Astragalus purshii var. lagopinus

Pursh's milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pursh's milkvetch is a California native perennial found in the northeastern Mono/Inyo Plateau region on dry plains and slopes, often growing on basalt or pumice landscapes with sagebrush at elevations of 1,200 to 1,850 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces pink-purple flowers with pale purple tips, arranged in small clusters of 2 to 7 blooms. Growing with extremely short stems typically 0 to 8 centimeters tall, it forms low, compact clumps characteristic of high desert environments. Its leaves are composed of 3 to 11 small leaflets, each 5 to 15 millimeters long, creating a delicate, finely textured foliage. The distinctive fruit is an incurved pod up to 17 millimeters long, curving more than half a circle and containing 14 to 20 seeds.

Habitat: dry plains, slopes, often on basalt or pumice, often with sagebrush

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1200-1850 m

Bioregions: ne MP

California counties: Glenn, Modoc, Lassen, Siskiyou, Alpine

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