It is an erect or curving perennial from 2 to 12 inches (5.1 to 30.5 cm) tall.[2]: 97 The plant is covered with star-shaped hairs.[2]: 97
Patches of the plants in bloom may cover large areas of the ground in yellow from the flowers.[2]: 97 [3]
Stems and leaves
1 to 6 inches (2.5 to 15.2 cm) leaves are compound pinnate, with linear to egg shaped 1⁄4 to 6 inches (0.64 to 15.24 cm) leaflets.[2]: 97
Inflorescence and fruit
The inflorescence is born on a stalk with 6-30 flowers having a hairy calyx tube and yellow bell-shaped corolla 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch (0.64 to 1.27 cm) long.[2]: 97 "Flavus" means "yellow", even though most of its flowers are white.[4] It blooms from May to June.[2]: 97 [3]
Habitat and range
It grows in saline soil (halophyte) in salt desert shrub between about 3,800 to 5,400 feet (1,200 to 1,600 m) in elevation.[2]: 97
References
^NatureServe (2024). "Astragalus flavus". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^ abcdefghCanyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, ISBN978-0-7627-7013-7