Astragalus lentiginosus

Freckled milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Freckled milkvetch is a California native perennial herb found in various bioregions across rocky, open habitats at moderate elevations. Flowering from late spring to summer, this plant produces flowers in shades of purple, cream, and white, with blooms featuring a distinctive banner petal that recurves at 30 to 50 degrees. Growing with leafy stems 10 to 15 centimeters tall, it develops a somewhat variable growth habit that can sometimes flower in its first year. Its compound leaves are characterized by 11 to 27 leaflets ranging from linear to widely ovate, giving the plant a delicate and intricate foliage structure. The fruit is a distinctive bladdery, papery pod that is generally ovate or spheric, with wide grooves above and below and a triangular, flat beak.

California counties: Mono, San Bernardino, Kern, Inyo, Riverside, Imperial, Los Angeles, Lassen, San Benito, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Plumas, Siskiyou, Santa Barbara, Tuolumne, San Diego, Tulare, Sierra, Kings, Placer

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