Freckled Milkvetch
Rattleweed, Loco Weed
Astragalus lentiginosus
Color: Purple
Common name: Freckled milkvetch, rattleweed, loco weed.
Latin name: Astragalus lentiginosus
Family: FABACEAE
Height: 6-18 inches tall.
Description: 3-50 flowers on inflorescence usually many branched ascending or spreading, petals purplish, cream, whitish, or mixed purplish and whitish. The mottled, papery pod/fruit is probably the most characteristic feature of this plant.
Leaf: 1–15 cm; leaflets linear to widely ovate. Stems and leaflets are a grey or silvery shade of green.
Range: n High Sierra Nevada, s Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountain Area, San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area,Inner South Coast Ranges, Great Basin Floristic Province, Desert
Habitat: Sagebrush Scrub, Shadscale Scrub, Alkali Sink, Subalpine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest, Valley Grassland, Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland. Generally dry, open places.
Elevation: -30–3600 m
Notes: Photographed Mar 3, 2010, near Short Canyon, on water pipeline road, Mojave Desert, Kern County, Calif. The seeds make a rattling noise in the dried pod which is the basis for one of its common names. Cattle and horses display a decidedly crazy behaviour, "loco" in Spanish, after eating this plant and that is why it is called loco weed. This is a highly variable species depending on locale. Annual or perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California to Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, and New Mexico.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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The Desert Environment
The North American Deserts
Desert Geological Terms
