Astragalus lentiginosus var. salinus

Sagebrush milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sagebrush milkvetch is a California native perennial found in the Modoc Plateau in sagebrush habitat at elevations of 1,050 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white flowers with lilac-tinged wing tips, the banner reaching 9.5 to 13.3 millimeters long. Growing with ascending stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall and few branches in the lower half, it has a short-lived perennial habit. Its compound leaves are 4 to 10 centimeters long, featuring 9 to 19 widely obovate leaflets each 5 to 20 millimeters long. The fruit is a distinctive bladdery pod 14 to 30 millimeters long with a thin papery texture and a beak 3 to 9 millimeters long.

Habitat: Generally sagebrush

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1050-1600 m

Bioregions: MP

California counties: Lassen, Siskiyou, Modoc, Sierra, Mono

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