African elephant vs Colton's Milkvetch

Loxodonta africana compared with Astragalus coltonii

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while Colton's Milkvetch is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Colton's Milkvetch
Kingdom	Animalia (动物界)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索动物门)	Magnoliophyta (木兰植物门)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳動物)	Magnoliopsida (木兰纲)
Order	Proboscidea (长鼻目)	Fabales (豆目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Fabaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Astragalus
Species	Loxodonta africana	Astragalus coltonii

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Colton's Milkvetch

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Colton's Milkvetch
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Colton's Milkvetch

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

African elephant

非洲象是地球上体型最大的陆地动物，体重可达7,000千克，栖息于撒哈拉以南非洲的草原、稀树草原和森林中。作为关键种，它们通过挖掘水源、传播种子和改变植被结构，深刻塑造了其栖息地的生态系统。受栖息地丧失和象牙盗猎威胁，非洲象的保护至关重要。

Colton's Milkvetch

Astragalus coltonii, Colton's milkvetch, is a perennial legume in the family Fabaceae assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. The genus Astragalus is the largest genus of flowering plants globally, with over 3,000 species distributed primarily in temperate and arid regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Astragalus coltonii inhabits diverse terrestrial environments, typically including semi-arid shrublands, rocky soils, and open desert margins where competition from taller vegetation is limited. Like other milkvetches, this species likely forms root associations with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, enabling it to colonise nutrient-poor substrates and contribute to soil fertility improvement in its habitat. The pinnately compound leaves, pea-type flowers, and inflated seed pods characteristic of the genus are typical features of this species. Milkvetches provide forage for native pollinators and serve as larval host plants for several butterfly and moth species. Some Astragalus species accumulate selenium or alkaloids from the soil, making them toxic to livestock, though the toxicological properties of A. coltonii specifically have not been well characterised. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.