Astragalus

n.	1.	(Anat.) The ankle bone, or hock bone; the bone of the tarsus which articulates with the tibia at the ankle.
	2.	(Bot.) A genus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe Galegeæ, 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.
	3.	(Arch.) See Astragal, 1.

Noun	1.	Astragalus - large genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs of north temperate regions; largest genus in the family Leguminosae Synonyms: genus Astragalus
	2.	astragalus - the bone in the ankle that articulates with the leg bones to form the ankle joint Synonyms: anklebone, astragal, talus

genus Astragalus, milk vetch, milk-vetch, Papilionoideae, rosid dicot genus, subfamily Papilionoideae