Astragalus didymocarpus var. obispoensis

San luis obispo milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

San luis obispo milkvetch is a California native annual found in southern Coastal Range and southwestern California in grassy hills and chaparral openings at elevations of 400 to 1,150 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small whitish flowers in clusters of 5 to 30 blossoms with delicate crescent-shaped keel petals. Growing with ascending stems 2.5 to 25 centimeters tall, the plant has a distinctively gray-hairy appearance. Its herbage is covered in soft grayish hairs, with leaves composed of multiple leaflets that blend into the surrounding grassland. The flower's banner reaches 6.2 to 8.6 millimeters long, with calyx lobes 1 to 2.5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Grassy hills, openings in chaparral

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 400-1150 m

Bioregions: s SCoRO, SW (exc WTR)

California counties: Santa Barbara, Riverside, Imperial, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Ventura

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