Astragalus
a genus of papilionaceous plants, herbaceous or shrubby, and often spiny. A. gummifer yields gum tragacanth.
ASTRAKHAN (as-tra-kan'), a Russian city, capital of the government of the same name, on an elevated island in the Volga. It is the seat of a Greek archbishop and has a large cathedral, as well as places of worship for Mohammedans, Armenians, etc. The manufactures are large and increasing, and the fisheries (sturgeon, etc.) very important. It is the chief port of the Caspian, and has regular steam communication with the principal towns on its shores. Pop. about 150,000, composed of various races. The government has an area of 91,327 square miles. It consists almost entirely of two vast steppes, separated from each other by the Volga, and forming for the most part arid, sterile deserts. Pop. about 1,350,000.