Astragalus lentiginosus var. floribundus

Floriferous milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Floriferous milkvetch is a California native perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada, southern Modoc Plateau, and southeastern Sierra Nevada in sagebrush habitats at elevations of 1,150 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white flowers with a subtle lilac tinge, arranged in dense clusters with 10 to 40 individual blossoms. Growing with ascending stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall and several branches in its lower half, it forms a short-lived but robust herb. Its compound leaves feature 11 to 19 obovate leaflets, each 5 to 15 millimeters long and nearly glabrous. The fruit is a distinctive bladdery, pale yellow pod 8 to 21 millimeters long with a small 3 to 7 millimeter curved or erect beak.

Habitat: Often among sagebrush

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1150-2000 m

Bioregions: n SNH, s MP, SNE

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