Astragalus tricarinatus

Triple-ribbed milkvetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2 · Endangered

Triple-ribbed milkvetch is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in eastern San Bernardino Mountains near Whitewater and Morongo Valley in exposed rocky desert slopes and canyon walls at elevations of 450 to 1,250 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces cream-colored flowers with a distinctive banner petal that curves back nearly 45 degrees, arranged in loose clusters of 5 to 15 blooms. Growing with stiff, erect stems 5 to 25 centimeters tall, it forms a loose tufted habit with fine silvery hairs covering its structure. Its compound leaves extend 7 to 20 centimeters long and feature 17 to 27 narrow, silvery-green leaflets each 3 to 12 millimeters long, densely covered in strigose hairs. The fruit is a distinctive three-sided linear pod 24 to 42 millimeters long, ascending from a short stout stalk and containing 20 to 24 seeds.

Habitat: Exposed rocky slopes, canyon walls along desert washes

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: 450-1250 m

Bioregions: e SnBr (Whitewater, Morongo Valley), adjacent edges D.

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Mono

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