Astragalus layneae
Encyclopedia
Astragalus layneae is a species of milkvetch
known by the common name widow's milkvetch. It is native to the Mojave Desert
and surrounding mountain ridges in California
and Nevada
.
and producing erect stems no taller than about 16 centimeters. The leaves are made up of many oval to rounded leaflets, and stem and leaves are coated in gray-green hairs.
The inflorescence
is covered in dark hairs and bears up to 45 flowers. Each flower is between one and two centimeters in length and has white petals tipped and streaked in bright purple. The fruit is a hanging legume pod up to 6.5 centimeters long. It is curved in shape and leathery and hairy in texture.
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 widow's milkvetch. It is native to the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and surrounding mountain ridges in 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...
and 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...
.
Description
This is a small perennial herb growing from a deep rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
and producing erect stems no taller than about 16 centimeters. The leaves are made up of many oval to rounded leaflets, and stem and leaves are coated in gray-green hairs.
The 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...
is covered in dark hairs and bears up to 45 flowers. Each flower is between one and two centimeters in length and has white petals tipped and streaked in bright purple. The fruit is a hanging legume pod up to 6.5 centimeters long. It is curved in shape and leathery and hairy in texture.