Astragalus lentiginosus var. albifolius

Northern loco milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Northern loco milkvetch is a California native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and western Mojave Desert in Los Angeles County, growing on alkaline flats and seeps at elevations of 250 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces predominantly white flowers with subtle purple tones, each petal 8 to 12 millimeters long. Growing with prostrate stems 30 to 70 centimeters long, it is densely covered in stiff hairs. Its compound leaves feature 9 to 21 narrow, oblanceolate leaflets, each 3 to 18 millimeters long and densely strigose. The distinctive fruit is an inflated, bladdery pod 10 to 17 millimeters long with a curved downward beak.

Habitat: Alkaline flats, seeps

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: 250-2300 m

Bioregions: SNE, w DMoj (Los Angeles Co.).

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