''Astragalus obscurus'' is a species of
milkvetch
''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to tempe ...
known by the common name arcane milkvetch. It is native to the northwestern United States in
Idaho and
Oregon and northern parts of
Nevada and
California. It is a plant of rocky areas in mountains and
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
plateaus. This is a small, mat-forming perennial herb with tufts of hairy stems approaching a maximum length of 15 centimeters. The leaves are up to 10 centimeters long and made up of thick oval-shaped leaflets. The
inflorescence is a dense cluster of 5 to 15 off-white to faintly lilac-tinted flowers, each less than a centimeter long. The fruit is a narrow, leathery
legume
A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
pod held upright in the infructescence. It may reach 2.5 centimeters in length and usually has two chambers inside.
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
obscurus
Flora of California
Flora of the Great Basin
Flora of Idaho
Flora of Nevada
Flora of Oregon
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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