Scientific Family
Fabaceae
Other common names
Douglas freckled milkvetch
spotted locoweed
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual or perennial
Height
4 to 16 inches
Riparian
No
This plant can be annual, biennual, or perennial. It is one of the most variable plants with differing heights, flowers, and pods. There are 38 varieties of this plant.
Corolla purple or whitish. Pods more or less completely 2-celled, spreading or ascending, sessile or nearly so (attached directly without a supporting stalk). Stipules distinct or nearly so. Plants highly variable in ecology, stature and habit.
Habitat
From deserts and salt-flats to open slopes in the high mountains.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
11000
Flower Characteristics
Keel shaped petals can be either white, purple or a combination. Flower clusters are attached by short stalks at equal distances along a central stem.
Flower color
Purple and/or white
Flower shape
Other
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
July
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems can be prostrate or erect.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Two chambered pod is long and leathery with a prominent beak and a groove on one side. The reddish freckles that appear on the pod are the source of the common name.
Fruit type
Pod
Fruit color
Greenish or light brown