Astragalus lentiginosus var. idriensis

Freckled milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Freckled milkvetch is a California native perennial found in the southern Coast Ranges and western Transverse Ranges on dry, grassy hillsides often associated with oak woodlands at elevations of 700 to 2,150 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces delicate pink-purple flowers with banner petals 12 to 20 millimeters long arranged in clusters of 7 to 20 blossoms. Growing with widely branched stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall and covered in subappressed hairs, it forms an open, spreading habit. Its compound leaves feature 7 to 29 widely obovate leaflets, each 3 to 18 millimeters long, creating a soft, textured appearance. The distinctive fruit is a half-ovate pod 12 to 30 millimeters long, often slightly incurved and minutely strigose, drying to a thick-papery texture.

Habitat: Dry, grassy hillsides, often with oak

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 700-2150 m

Bioregions: SCoRI, WTR.

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