Astragalus tragacantha L. / Heterotypic Synonyms: Astragalus massiliensis (Mill.) Lam., it is a perennial richly branched shrub, forms hemispherical, dense, compact, very prickly cushions 20-50 cm high. The leaves are alternate, pinnate, 3-4 cm long, the leaf spindle is terminated by a stiff, very sharp thorn and persists on the twigs for many years, leaflets are very small, 2-4 mm long and 1-1.2 mm wide, soon falling off, the upper ones often transformed into spines, stipules are lanceolate, attached to the spindle. The flowers form very poor, mostly 1–2-flowered racemes; they grow on short petioles 2-3 mm long, calyx about 4 mm long tube and 1 mm long lobes, the corolla consists of white, 12-14 mm long paves the wings are also white, while the shuttle is about 10 mm long, purple at the tip. The pods is oblong, 1–1.3 cm long, densely appressed stellate hairy.
Flowering in: Mar-Jun.
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