Astragalus geyeri A. Gray
Family: Fabaceae
Geyer's Milk-Vetch,  more...
Astragalus geyeri image

Description: Annual, rarely persistant into second season, very slender, minutely covered with stiff, straight, sharp, appressed hairs (strigose). Stem prostrate to ascending, 3/8 - 8 inches (1-20 cm). Leaf 5/8 - 4 inches (1.5-10 cm); leaflets 3-13, often well separated, 1/4 - 5/8 inches (5-15 mm), terminal leaflet often longest. Flowers well separated, banner 1/4 - 3-1/8 inches (5-8 cm) long, whitish, keel tip purple. Fruit 1/4 - 1 inch (5-25 mm), strigose, inflated, thinly papery, beak triangular. Identifying Features: Annual growing on sandy soils. Papery, inflated, finely hairy pod less than 25mm in length. Distribution: Lassen County. Within public lands administered by the Eagle Lake Field Office at the base of Amedee Mountains, near Wendel and Viewland Pit. Habitat: Sandy areas at 4,000 to 4,400 feet (1219 - 1341 m). Flowering Period: May - August. Similar Plants: None, plant rather distinct.