Astragalus austiniae

Austin's milkvetch, Austin's astragalus, Austin's astragalus

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Austin's milkvetch is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe in exposed alpine meadows and ridges above timberline at elevations of 2,400 to 2,750 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces white to dull lilac-tinged flowers in compact clusters with 4 to 14 blossoms, each banner petal delicately recurved at approximately 35 degrees. Growing as a dwarf, dense tussock with stems less than 11 centimeters tall, it forms a compact silvery-hairy cushion across high-altitude landscapes. Its leaves are composed of 5 to 13 small elliptic to oblanceolate leaflets, each 1 to 7 millimeters long and distinctively keeled on the underside. The fruit develops as a small ascending, finely tomentose pod 5 to 7 millimeters long, mostly concealed within the plant's calyx.

Habitat: Exposed ridges, meadows, above timberline

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 2400-2750 m

Bioregions: n SNH (near Lake Tahoe).

California counties: Nevada, Placer, El Dorado

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