
Buffalo Plum
Astragalus crassicarpus Origin: Colorado Improvement status: Wild Seeds per packet: ~17 BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial Buffalo plum (or ground plum, or groundplum milkvetch) is the common name for Astragalus crassicarpus. A relative of the famous Chinese medicinal herb Astragalus propinquus (formerly A. membranaceus), buffalo plum also has a long history of medicinal use, but it is most widely used as a food. It is a wild plant that has long been foraged by native peoples in its native range of western North America. Dakota people, who are said to have mainly eaten it raw, call the plant "pte ta wote", which means "buffalo food," while Lakota people reportedly used it as medicine for horses. Pawnee people are said to have eaten it to help quench thirst.The plant is a legume, with vetch-like leaves and pretty purplish-pink flowers, but the pod is quite different from most legume pods: it's round and really looks like a plum! (Though some might more