Acmispon argyraeus

Canyon birdsfoot trefoil

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Canyon birdsfoot trefoil is a California native perennial herb found in rocky or open habitats across California's coastal ranges and western Sierra Nevada foothills. Flowering from spring to summer, this plant produces yellow flowers that age to orange-red, with delicate blooms emerging individually or in small clusters of 1 to 3 flowers. Growing with hairy, silvery-gray stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms a compact and intricate plant structure. Its leaves are uniquely arranged with 3 to 5 leaflets, each 4 to 12 millimeters long, creating a distinctive pinnate or palmate pattern with gland-like stipules. The fruit develops as a divergent, exserted oblong pod with a short beak 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters long.

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside

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