Canada Milk Vetch
Astragalus canadensis
Hosts 4 caterpillarsPollinator plantNitrogen fixer

(c) Jim Morefield, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jim Morefield
Growing it
| When | Flowers June to August |
|---|---|
| Type | wildflower |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Low, medium |
| Soil | pH 6–8 |
| Hardiness | zone 3–7 |
| Mature height | 0.8 m |
| Mature spread | 0.45 m |
| Spacing | 0.3 m |
| Years to maturity | 2 |
| Bloom | Jun–Aug |
| Flower colour | White read from a published flora |
| In bloom | June July August |
| Native to | AB, SK |
feather-compound leaves about 10 cm long
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 58 records, high confidence
- Fescue Grassland south AB: 45 records, high confidence
- Moist Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 24 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 11 records, medium confidence
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 9 records, medium confidence
- Northern Continental Divide south AB: 9 records, medium confidence
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 7 records, low confidence
- Wabasca Lowland north AB: 4 records, low confidence
- Cypress Upland south AB / SK: 3 records, low confidence
- Mixed Grassland south AB / SK: 3 records, low confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
30 documented relationships.
nectar for
- American Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Black-tailed Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Brown-belted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Brown-tailed Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Central Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Golden Northern Bumble Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- High Country Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Hunt's Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Nevada Bumble Bee Specimen records from ecdysis.org
- Northern Amber Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Orange-banded Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Red-belted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- Tricoloured Bumble Bee Clint Otto et al. 2020
- Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
pollen for
- Agapostemon texanus Robertson 1929
- Atrichopogon fusculus Robertson 1929
- Colletes simulans Robertson 1929
- Exoprosopa fascipennis Robertson 1929
- Halictus ligatus Robertson 1929
- Helophilus latifrons Robertson 1929
- Leafcutter Bees Wilson & Carril 2015
- Physocephala tibialis Robertson 1929
- Pipiza femoralis Robertson 1929
- Sarcophaga sinuata Robertson 1929
- Syrphus torvus Robertson 1929
caterpillar host for
- Melissa Blue Acorn & Sheldon 2006
- Silver-spotted Skipper Acorn & Sheldon 2006
- Silvery Blue Acorn & Sheldon 2006
- Western Tailed-Blue Acorn & Sheldon 2006
Also worth knowing
Safety
Low toxicity to pets
Buying it
About $8–$16 per plant (estimate), usually from a native-plant nursery. Estimate (herb default); AB retail as of 2026
Where these numbers came from
- Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate