Astragalus xiphoides, commonly known as gladiator milkvetch, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Named in 1956, it is known only from Arizona.
Distribution Astragalus xiphoides is rare, occurring across a range of . The species is native to Arizona, United States, and found mainly on Navajo land. It is found on clay and sandstone cliffs, at an elevation of . and is known only from the Little Colorado River area of Holbrook, Arizona.
History The species was first described by Rupert Charles Barneby, in a 1956 publication of The American Midland Naturalist.
Description Astragalus xiphoides is a perennial herb.
The plant is thin, and has few leaves. It has fine, ash colored hairs, that are around long. The plant has few stems, which are long, and branched at the first few nodes. The flowers are present from below or near to the middle of the plant. The leaves have long appendages. The leaves measure from . The lowest leaves are large, egg shaped, and papery in texture. Leaves higher up on the plant are smaller, tapering and triangular in shape. The plant also has leaflets.
The flower stalks are long, and the stalks at the bottom of the plant are thicker than those at the top. The calyx is long, white, and has stiff hairs. The petals are yellowish-white in color. The fruits are narrow and oblong in shape, and around long. They are wedge shaped at both ends, and may be attached without stalks. The seeds are smooth, brown, and measure long.
Astragalus xiphoides is superficially similar to Astragalus convallarius.
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