Astragalus leucolobus

Big bear valley woollypod, Big Bear Valley Woollypod

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Big bear valley woollypod is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the Tehachapi Mountains, Transverse Ranges, and San Jacinto Mountains in dry, rocky sagebrush and pine areas at elevations of 1,450 to 2,900 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces pink-purple flowers with a banner 16 to 18.5 millimeters long, recurved at about 40 degrees. Growing with dense, clustered stems less than 7 centimeters tall, covered in white and gray tangled hairs. Its leaves are 1.5 to 9 centimeters long with 7 to 19 leaflets, each approximately 3 to 13 millimeters and widely obovate in shape. The fruit is an ascending, leathery pod 13 to 25 millimeters long, slightly incurved and densely covered in white hairs.

Habitat: Dry, rocky areas, sagebrush or pines

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1450-2900 m

Bioregions: Teh, TR, SnJt.

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Inyo, Kern, San Benito, Tulare

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