Astragalus gibbsii
Encyclopedia
Astragalus gibbsii is a species of milkvetch
Astragalus
Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

 known by the common name Gibbs' milkvetch. It is native to eastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, the north-central Sierra Nevada, and western Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, where it grows in the pine forest habitat of the mountains and the sagebrush of the plateaus.

Description

Astragalus gibbsii is low-lying perennial herb forming clumps of hairy, gray-green stems up to 35 centimeters long. Leaves are up to about 9 centimeters long and are made up of several pairs of oval to oblong leaflets. The large inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

 bears up to 30 yellowish or cream-colored pouched, podlike flowers, each between 1 and 2 centimeters long.

The fruit is a hanging legume pod 2 to 3 centimeters long. It is fleshy when new and dries to a hairy, leathery texture.

External links

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