Nuttall's Milkvetch

Nutall’s Milkvetch is a clumpy, low-lying perennial herb, which grows up to a meter in length. The hairy to hairless gray-green stems form thick tangles on the ground. The abundant leaves, growing up to 17 cm long, are composed of many pairs of slender, oval leaflets, which attach directly to the leaf stalk. The small leaflets are hairy and silvery gray-green. The dense flower clusters are composed of up to 125 slender, drooping pea-flowers. Each creamy white flower is 1 to 1.5 cm long. The flowers are sometimes tinted with green, though only when young, or purple. The thin-skinned seed pod, often a gray-white with red tinting on the tip, dries to a papery texture. Each pod, about 6 cm long, contains multiple seeds.

Basic Information

• Member of the Fabaceae, pea, family

• Perennial herb

• There are two recognized varieties:

  • Astragalus nuttallii var. nuttallii — Ocean Bluff Milkvetch

    • Endemic to the Central Coast of California

  • Astragalus nuttallii var. Virgatus — Angel Island Milkwort

Habitat

• Native from Baja California to California, though only as far north as Santa Rosa in central CA

• Found on the direct coast in sandy soil

Reproduction

• Blooms year around