Acmispon argophyllus var. adsurgens

San clemente island bird's-foot trefoil, San Clemente Island bird's-foot trefoil, San Clemente Island bird's-foot trefoil

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

San clemente island bird's-foot trefoil is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native perennial found in southern Channel Islands on San Clemente Island in dry, rocky slopes and bluffs at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces yellow flowers in compact clusters less than 1 centimeter wide, with 4 to 15 blooms densely crowded at stem tips. Growing with silvery, somewhat woody stems that are generally erect and have slender branches, it reaches a modest height with an intricate growth habit. Its leaves are distinctive, overlapping and silvery, creating a soft, dense appearance across the plant's structure. The flower's small calyx lobes measure approximately 2.5 to 4 millimeters long, with delicate yellow petals 6 to 10 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes, bluffs

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: s ChI (San Clemente Island).

California counties: Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.