Astragalus bernardinus

San bernardino milkvetch, San Bernardino milk-vetch, San Bernardino milk-vetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

San bernardino milkvetch is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the San Bernardino Mountains and New York and Ivanpah Mountains in stony desert shrub and juniper areas at elevations of 900 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pale to dark lilac flowers with banner petals 7 to 10 millimeters long, often ascending among sagebrush. Growing with slender stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall, it often twines delicately among desert shrubs with a wiry, sparsely leafy structure. Its compound leaves feature 7 to 19 leaflets, each 4 to 20 millimeters long and lance-shaped with acute or notched tips. The fruit develops as an ascending, pale, papery pod 20 to 30 millimeters long and 4 to 5 millimeters wide, typically straight or slightly curved.

Habitat: Stony areas among desert shrubs, junipers

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 900-2300 m

Bioregions: SnBr, DMtns (New York, Ivanpah mtns).

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo

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