Astragalus acutirostris

Beaked rattle weed

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Beaked rattle weed is a California native annual found in the eastern Sierra Nevada, western Mojave Desert, and western Colorado Desert in sandy or gravelly areas at elevations of 200 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces white flowers with a banner petal recurved at about 45 degrees, creating a distinctive curved profile. Growing with prostrate or ascending stems 2 to 30 centimeters long, it spreads low across the ground with nearly appressed, curved hairs. Its compound leaves have 7 to 15 leaflets, each 2 to 8 millimeters long with slightly oblong shapes and notched tips. The fruit is pale brown, gently curved, and 12 to 30 millimeters long with a thin-walled structure.

Habitat: Sandy or gravelly areas

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 200-2100 m

Bioregions: SNE, DMoj, w DSon

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, Kern, Los Angeles, San Diego, Mono

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