Astragalus pulsiferae

Ames' milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Ames' milkvetch is a delicate California native perennial found in rocky alpine and subalpine habitats at elevations typically above 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white flowers with lavender veins and a distinctive lilac keel, with blossoms 5 to 9 millimeters long. Growing in low, tufted formations with prostrate stems rarely exceeding 3 centimeters tall, it spreads in widely branched, slender clusters. Its leaves feature 3 to 13 crowded leaflets, each approximately 2 to 12 millimeters long and slightly obovate with often notched tips. The fruit develops as a translucent, bladdery pod 10 to 20 millimeters long, covered with sparse, long, wavy hairs.

California counties: Plumas, Lassen, Sierra

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