Lambert's locoweed

Oxytropis lambertii. These flamboyantly magenta flowers can be observed on lower elevation mountains across the Rocky Mountains area. They can often be seen, as...
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Oxytropis lambertii. These flamboyantly magenta flowers can be observed on lower elevation mountains across the Rocky Mountains area. They can often be seen, as here, on highway shoulders, becasue teh seed is often included in highway reseeding mixed for aesthetic reasons; and, as legumes, they do help add nitrogen to the soil.
The "locoweed" name is applied to both Oxytropis and th huge genus Astragalus (aka milkvetch). Some but not all of these species cause neurological damage to livestock, either through production of various alkaloid poisons and-or by accumulating selenium.
State highway near San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico.
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