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 Flowers and leaves Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Fruit Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial
General Desc:
Relatively small species, producing short, reddish leaf stems (petioles) and pinnately compound leaves.
Identification notes: Short-lived perennial having no visible stem; leaves compound, leaflets narrow to somewhat broadened; short stiff hairs on both sides; flowers purple in many-flowered racemes; pods inflated.
Height:
To 20 inches
Habitat Description: Sandy flats, open areas.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 100 - 6000 feet
Color:
White to purple
Shape:
Irregular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Mar - May
Description:
Flowers form in racemes of 5 to 10 or more. Petals are usually purple (less often white), the banner having white streaks at the center, while the flower bracts are initially green, becoming red-purple. The banner petal is curved back at about 45 degrees.
Leaf Color:
Green to reddish-purple
Leaf Type:
Compound
Leaf Shape:
Pinnatifid
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Opposite
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves and stems are covered by short hairs that press against the surface. Leaflet margins are often red-purple, while the leaflets are about 1/3 inch long and tend to fold up along the axis. The tips of the leaflets are either flat or shallowly notched.
Fruit Color: Green to red
Fruit Type: Pod
Fruit Notes: The common name, halfmoon milkvetch, refers to the shape of the seed pods, which are papery and inflated. They are initially greenish, later red.
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