Astragalus purshii var. purshii

Pursh's milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pursh's milkvetch is a California native perennial found in the Modoc Plateau in dry sagebrush flats at elevations of 1,050 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces white to cream-colored flowers with pale lilac tips, ranging 19 to 26 millimeters long. Growing with extremely short stems less than one centimeter tall, it forms low-spreading clusters with delicate compound leaves. Its leaves are composed of 5 to 17 small leaflets, each 2 to 10 millimeters long, creating a dense, ground-hugging foliage. The plant develops elongated seed pods 13 to 27 millimeters long that may be straight or slightly curved at the tip.

Habitat: dry flats, often in sagebrush

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1050-2100 m

Bioregions: MP

California counties: Inyo, Kern, Ventura, Los Angeles, Plumas, Lassen, Nevada, Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, Sierra, Modoc, Siskiyou, Mono, Alpine

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