Astragalus anxius

Ash valley milkvetch, Ash Valley Milkvetch, Ash Valley milk-vetch, Ash Valley milk-vetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Ash valley milkvetch is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the Modoc Plateau in Lassen County, growing in gravelly volcanic soil among pines and sagebrush at an elevation of 1,550 meters. Flowering from June to July, this delicate plant produces purple and white flowers with pale lilac veins, arranged in small clusters of 7 to 15 blooms. Growing with prostrate, slender stems 3 to 20 centimeters long that form a loose, matted habit, it has a delicate appearance with sparse, finely wavy hairs. Its leaves are composed of 9 to 15 obovate leaflets, each 2.5 to 12 millimeters long with blunt or notched tips, creating a soft, intricate foliage pattern. The fruit is a small, spreading or reflexed ovate pod 3.5 to 4.5 millimeters long, lightly compressed with a blunt lower angle.

Habitat: Gravelly volcanic soil among pines, sagebrush

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 1550 m

Bioregions: MP (Lassen Co.).

California counties: Lassen

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