Astragalus obscurus
Encyclopedia
Astragalus obscurus is a species of milkvetch
known by the common name arcane milkvetch. It is native to the northwestern United States of Idaho
and Oregon
and northern parts of Nevada
and California
. It is a plant of rocky areas in mountains and Great Basin
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 pod held upright in the infructescence. It may reach 2.5 centimeters in length and usually has two chambers inside.
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 arcane milkvetch. It is native to the northwestern United States of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and northern parts of 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...
and 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...
. It is a plant of rocky areas in mountains and Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
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
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 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 pod held upright in the infructescence. It may reach 2.5 centimeters in length and usually has two chambers inside.