Astragalus canadensis.

Fine early c.19th botanical engraving of the Canadian milkvetch by Conrad Loddiges, The Botanical Cabinet, which was published from 1817 to 1822.

Conrad Loddiges, a Dutch-born horticulturalist, settled in Hackney as a nurseryman in about 1761 and introduced many new and exotic species to Britain, becoming particularly well known for a fine stock of plants from Australia and the United States. Their nursery traded and introduced many exotic plants, trees, shrubs, ferns, palms and orchids from the Americas, Africa and Australia into British and European gardens. As part of their success they were encouraged to produce a “catalogue” of their plants which they named the The Botanical Cabinet and became one of the most influential botanical series produced during the great era of plant collecting.

Common names: Canadian milkvetch
Modern binomial name: Astragalus canadensis
First described: Linnaeus
Distribution: Canada, USA