Layne Locoweed, Layne's milkvetch
Astragalus layneae
Color: white and purple
Common name: Layne Locoweed, Layne's milkvetch
Latin name: Astragalus layneae
Family: FABACEAE
Height: 1 to 6 inches tall
Description: Petals whitish with keel tip, wing tips purple, banner often lilac-blushed. Unlike most plants in the Astragalus genus, the stems, covered in coarse grayish hairs, are unusually erect.
Leaf: 4–16 cm; leaflets 11–23, 5–23 mm, ovate to round
Range: White and Inyo Mountains, Mojave Desert.
Habitat: Creosote Bush Scrub, sandy flats, washes.
Elevation: 450–1550 m.
Flowering time: Mar–Jun
Notes: Photographed March 13, 2008, Mojave Desert between Harper Dry Lake and Highway 395, San Bernardino County, Calif. Fairly common perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California in s Nevada, nw Arizona.
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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