Scientific Family
Fabaceae
Other common names
silverline locoweed
ashen milk-vetch
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
6 inches
Riparian
No
Low growing plant with grayish-green compound leaves composed of oblong, paired leaflets. The erect, naked flower stems of pinkish-purple flowers rise above the leaves.
Compound leaves of silvery-hairy leaflets below but nearly hairless above, leaflets are mostly obtuse or notched at the apex. Flower clusters usually surpass the leaves.
Habitat
Sandy, dry open ground and pine forests.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
8000
Flower Characteristics
Pinkish-purple flowers are in a broad terminal clusters on erect flower stems; fowers turn blue when dry.
Flower color
Pinkish-purple
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
July
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are compound. Oblong leaflets are opposite and often loosely folded upward. Dense hairs on leaflet undersides make leaf margins look silvery. The upper surface of leaflets is sometimes less hairy and brighter green than the lower surface.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Seedpods are ascending, oblong, to 1-1/2 inches long and to 3/4 inch wide, laterally compressed and curved into a crescent-shape.
Fruit type
Pod