Milk vetch

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

milk vetch
    n 1: any of various plants of the genus Astragalus [syn: {milk
         vetch}, {milk-vetch}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Milk vetch \Milk" vetch`\ (Bot.)
   A leguminous herb ({Astragalus glycyphyllos}) of Europe and
   Asia, supposed to increase the secretion of milk in goats.
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   Note: The name is sometimes taken for the whole genus
         {Astragalus}, of which there are about two hundred
         species in North America, and even more elsewhere.
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from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Astragalus \As*trag"a*lus\, n. [L. See {Astragal}.]
   1. (Anat.) The ankle bone, or hock bone; the bone of the
      tarsus which articulates with the tibia at the ankle.
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   2. (Bot.) A genus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe
      {Galege[ae]}, containing numerous species, two of which
      are called, in English, {milk vetch} and {licorice vetch}.
      {Gum tragacanth} is obtained from different oriental
      species, particularly the {Astragalus gummifer} and
      {Astragalus verus}.
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   3. (Arch.) See {Astragal}, 1.
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