Astragalus curvicarpus var. curvicarpus

Sickle milkvetch, Sickle Milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sickle milkvetch is a California native perennial herb found in the Great Basin and northern California Ranges in loose soils, often with sagebrush, at elevations of 1,000 to 2,900 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces white to pale yellow flowers with petals 15 to 21 millimeters long, reflexed at nearly 45 degrees. Growing with decumbent to ascending stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall, often stout and covered in grayish, curly hairs, it forms a leafy habit. Its compound leaves bear 7 to 21 obovate leaflets, each 3 to 23 millimeters long with obtuse or notched tips. The distinctive sickle-shaped fruit is pendent, 20 to 35 millimeters long, curved in a quarter to full circle, with a stiff-papery texture when dried.

Habitat: Loose soil, often with sagebrush

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 1000-2900 m

Bioregions: CaRH, GB

California counties: Mono, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sierra

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