Astragalus aridus

Annual desert milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Annual desert milkvetch is a California native annual found in the southern desert region in sandy places at elevations below 350 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces white to pink or tan-pink flowers with petals that are 3.3 to 6.5 millimeters long and slightly recurved. Growing with decumbent or ascending silvery-silky stems 3 to 30 centimeters tall, it has a delicate and subtle presence in arid landscapes. Its compound leaves are 2 to 9 centimeters long, consisting of 7 to 17 oblong or oblanceolate leaflets with acute or notched tips. The plant produces distinctive ascending fruits 10 to 17 millimeters long, covered in appressed hairs and appearing gray and thick-papery.

Habitat: Sandy places

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: < 350 m

Bioregions: DSon

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, San Diego

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