Astragalus nuttallianus var. imperfectus

Turkey peas

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Native

Turkey peas is a California native annual found in the Mojave Desert and western Sonoran Desert in sandy or gravelly flats and washes at elevations of 250 to 2,150 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small pale flowers with acute leaflet tips. Growing with delicate stems up to several dozen centimeters tall, it forms loose, spreading clusters. Its compound leaves have numerous small leaflets with sharp, pointed tips, creating a fine, intricate texture. The fruit develops with short, ascending hairs on a calyx tube approximately 2 millimeters long.

Habitat: Sandy or gravelly flats, washes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 250-2150 m

Bioregions: DMoj, w DSon

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

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