Astragalus nuttallianus

Small-flowered milkvetch, Small-Flowered Milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Small-flowered milkvetch is a California native annual herb found in dry, open habitats across California's interior valleys and coastal ranges. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces small white to faintly lilac-tinged flowers measuring 4 to 7 millimeters long. Growing with slender, prostrate or ascending stems 10 to 45 centimeters long that are minutely hairy, it forms a delicate ground-hugging structure. Its compound leaves are 1.5 to 6.5 centimeters long, composed of 5 to 13 small elliptic leaflets 2 to 10 millimeters long, with upper leaflets having acute tips. The plant produces linear, gently curved seed pods 10 to 20 millimeters long that mature to a dark brown or nearly black color.

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Inyo, Imperial, Monterey, San Diego

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