Astragalus

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In anatomy, the tibiale, or innermost one of the proximal row of tarsal bones. In mammals it articulates with the tibia and enters into the tibiotarsal or ankle-joint; in birds it is ankylosed with the tibia, forming more or less of the tibial condyles, and entering into the mediotarsal or so-called tibiometatarsal joint or heel-joint. In man and some other mammals it is known as the talus, huckle-bone, ankle-bone, or sling-bone, being the uppermost bone of the tarsus, and chiefly or entirely receiving the weight of the body, in so far as this is borne upon the foot or hind foot. See cuts under Dromæus, foot, and hock.
2. n. [capitalized] [NL.] A very large genus of plants, natural order Leguminosæ, mostly low herbs, found in all parts of the world except Australia and South Africa. Over 1,000 species are known in the old world, and about 200 in North America, chiefly west of the Mississippi. Very few are of any value. A. gummifer and a group of allied species, low spiny shrubs of Asia Minor, Syria, and Persia, are the source of the gum tragacanth of commerce. Some of the same species also yield a sort of manna. A. Bæticus is cultivated in some parts of Europe for its seeds, which are used as a substitute for coffee. In the United States several species are known as locoweed, and are poisonous to animals eating them.
3. n. plural The small carpal and tarsal bones of animals, used by the ancients in games of chance. Different sides had different numbers and different names. There were many artificial astragali, some of which were decorated.

Wiktionary

1. n. A taxonomic genus within the family Fabaceae — the milk-vetches.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Anat.) The ankle bone, or hock bone; the bone of the tarsus which articulates with the tibia at the ankle.
2. n. (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. n. (Arch.) See Astragal, 1.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. large genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs of north temperate regions; largest genus in the family Leguminosae
2. n. the bone in the ankle that articulates with the leg bones to form the ankle joint