Description

Astragalus hamosus, a slender annual herb of the family Fabaceae, is native to the Mediterranean basin and Central Asia, extending through Iran and Afghanistan into the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The plant produces characteristic strongly curved or hook-shaped seed pods, which give it a distinctive morphology compared to other Astragalus species. While the genus Astragalus is best known in Western herbal medicine for the tonifying Chinese species A. membranaceus, A. hamosus is documented in Unani pharmacopoeial references and regional ethnobotanical surveys across Pakistan and northern India. The seeds have been incorporated in nutritive and general tonic formulations. The plant also provides a source of tragacanth-type gum from certain accessions, though commercial tragacanth is primarily derived from A. gummifer.