Astragalus lentiginosus var. semotus

Freckled milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Freckled milkvetch is a California native perennial found in the White and Inyo Mountains in dry sagebrush and pine forest environments at elevations of 2,200 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces nearly white flowers with a banner 10 to 12 millimeters long in clusters of 6 to 10 blossoms. Growing in loose tufts with stems less than 15 centimeters tall and covered in fine appressed hairs, the plant forms a compact ground-hugging habit. Its leaves are 4 to 9 centimeters long, composed of 13 to 27 narrowly elliptic leaflets spaced along the stem. The distinctive fruit is a papery, bladdery pod 10 to 20 millimeters long with a mottled surface and a 4 to 7 millimeter curved beak.

Habitat: dry sandy or gravelly flats, hillsides, sagebrush, pine forest

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 2200-3500 m

Bioregions: W&ampI.

California counties: Mono, Inyo

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