Astragalus kentrophyta var. elatus
Spiny-leaved milkvetch, Spiny-Leaved Milkvetch, spiny-leaved milk-vetch, spiny-leaved milk-vetch
Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2
Spiny-leaved milkvetch is a rare California native perennial ranked 2B.2 by CNPS, found in the White and Inyo Mountains in open rocky areas at elevations of 2,900 to 3,200 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces white to faintly purple-veined flowers with petals 4.8 to 6.2 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems around 10 centimeters tall, often branching at the base and covered in strigose hairs, it forms a distinctively spiny plant. Its leaves are 10 to 26 millimeters long, composed of 3 to 7 stiff leaflets that terminate in sharp spine-like tips. The fruit is small, generally 4 to 7 millimeters long and 1.5 to 2 millimeters wide, containing 2 to 4 ovules.
Habitat: Open rocky areas
Bloom period: Jun-Sep
Elevation: 2900-3200 m
Bioregions: W&I
California counties: Inyo, Mono
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.