Astragalus bernardinus

Astragalus bernardinus
Conservation status
Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Astragalus
Species:	A. bernardinus
Binomial name
Astragalus bernardinus M.E.Jones

Astragalus bernardinus is a species of milkvetch known by the common name San Bernardino milkvetch. It is native to the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. It is also found in the Ivanpah Mountains in the Mojave Desert and the nearby New York Mountains which straddle the California-Nevada state line.

It is a plant of desert and dry mountain slope habitat. This is a slender, wiry perennial herb growing in twisted clumps, sometimes clinging to other plants for support. The stems are 10 to 50 centimeters long and mostly naked, coated partly in stiff hairs. The leaves are up to 14 centimeters long and are made up of widely spaced pairs of lance-shaped leaflets. The inflorescence is a loose cluster of up to 25 light purple pealike flowers. The fruit is a pale-colored legume pod up to 3 centimeters long which dries to a papery texture.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• The Nature Conservancy
• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery