Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Astragalus gambelianus is a species of milkvetch known by the common name Gambel's dwarf milkvetch. It is native to California, with its distribution extending into Oregon to the north and Baja California to the south. It grows in many types of habitat. This is an annual herb with slender stems reaching a maximum of 30 centimeters long, but generally remaining shorter. A dwarf milkvetch, it is smaller than most other species of its genus. The leaves are less than 4 centimeters long and are made up of several oblong leaflets, each a few millimeters in length. The flower cluster holds up to 15 purple-tinted white flowers, each generally less than 6 millimeters long. The herbage of the flower cluster is coated in black hairs. The fruit is a tiny rounded or oval legume pod just a few millimeters long.

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

0.8 - 12 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

White, Purple

Sun

Full Sun

Site type

Open, grassy places

Plant communities

Coastal Sage Scrub, Foothill Woodland, Southern Oak Woodland

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 26 likely

Confirmed Likely

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana

Alfalfa Looper Moth

Autographa californica

Orange Sulphur

Colias eurytheme