Astragalus fruticosus Forssk.
A. tomentosus Lam.
Eng.: Milkvetch. Fre.: Astragale.
Perennial herbaceous plant or subshrub, 30-60 cm in height, highly branched, with stems erect or procumbent, woody at the base, white-tomentose. Leaves 10-25 cm; with stipules 6-8 mm, triangular, acuminate; rachis thick, rigid; with 20-30 pairs of leaflets, broadly ovate or orbicular-cordate, retuse, sparsely hairy on the upper side and pubescent whitish on the abaxial surface. Flowers in axillary groups of 3-4, on short peduncles, with pedicels 1-2 mm. Calyx 1-1.2 cm, with lanceolate teeth of the same length as the tube. Corolla 2-2.4 cm, papilionoid, light yellow. Androecium diadelphous. Ovary sessile. Pod 4.5-7 × 1-1.5 cm, slightly arched, woody, longitudinally venose, tomentose white or brown, ending in a long beak (1 cm) spiny, with 10-30 seeds. Seeds less than 3 mm, reniform, brown.
Flowering:
March to June.
Fruiting:
June to September.
Habitat:
Desert and semi-desert areas.
Distribution:
Central and western Asia, reaching from the west to the Mediterranean coast and the Sinai.
Observations:
This species is cited in Flora of Libya but seems to be a confusion with A. gombo subsp. gomboeformis (Pomel) Eug. Ott.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species, in principle it is not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.