Astragalus didymocarpus var. dispermus

Dwarf white milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Dwarf white milkvetch is a California native annual found in the southwestern California bioregion in sandy or gravelly areas at elevations from 50 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces white flowers in small clusters of 7 to 20 blossoms, with banner petals 3.4 to 5.4 millimeters long. Growing with predominantly prostrate stems 15 to 27 centimeters long, the plant is covered in a distinctive grayish hairiness that gives it a soft, muted appearance. Its leaves are accompanied by small, white-haired calyxes with lobes 1.5 to 2.4 millimeters long, and the flower's keel is abruptly curved with a bluntly or sharply triangular tip. The plant's delicate structure and low-growing habit make it well-adapted to its sparse, sandy habitat.

Habitat: Sandy or gravelly areas

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: -50-1500 m

Bioregions: D.

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Madera, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Ventura

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