Rocky Mountain milkvetch, Astragalus scopulorum

The last two days on the blog page we've looked at moonflowers. Yesterday's Datura also goes by the name locoweed. As do other poisonous plants, including many Astragalus. So as long as we're going crazy, let's look at all this confused communication. Common names can get a little crazy. Bestowed by many cultures in many eras, they have much in parallel with microspecies. Back in the old country the Smiths may have called a flower coddlins and cream. Then over here the immigrant Kieffers might have seen another immigrant and called it hairy willowherb. Now they're all the same family, speaking English, in a time when we're less insular. Things seem to be getting sorted out a little. When we see this most of us will call it milkvetch. Until our cows eat some! This milkvetch grows in mostly open areas in AZ, CO, NM< and UT. Summit Co CO, 6/19/13.