Astragalus pomonensis

Pomona milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pomona milkvetch is a California native perennial found in southern Coastal Ranges, southern California, Peninsular Ranges, and western desert regions in shrubby, grassy, or disturbed areas at elevations below 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces cream-colored flowers in loose clusters with 10 to 45 spreading or reflexed blooms. Growing with stout, ascending stems 25 to 80 centimeters tall that are leafy and hollow, it forms clumped clusters in its habitat. Its compound leaves feature 25 to 41 elliptic leaflets, each 6 to 30 millimeters long and sparsely hairy on the underside. The fruit develops as a bladdery, papery pod 18 to 45 millimeters long, often appearing somewhat transparent and containing 34 to 55 seeds.

Habitat: shrubby, grassy, or disturbed areas

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 1200 m

Bioregions: s SCoRO, SCo, PR, w DSon

California counties: Riverside, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange

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