Dean's milkvetch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dean's milkvetch |
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Astragalus deanei, also called Dean's milkvetch, is a very special and rare plant. It's a type of milkvetch, which is a group of plants in the pea family. This plant only grows in a small area in southern San Diego County, California. You can find it on the hillsides of the Peninsular Ranges, specifically between the towns of El Cajon and Tecate.
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What Does Dean's Milkvetch Look Like?
Dean's milkvetch is a plant that lives for many years. It grows straight up, reaching about 30 to 60 centimeters tall, which is like one to two feet. Most of the plant is smooth and doesn't have much hair.
Leaves and Flowers
The leaves of this plant can be up to 18 centimeters long. Each leaf is made up of several smaller, oval-shaped parts called leaflets. These leaflets have clear lines in the middle, like tiny veins.
When the plant blooms, it produces a group of flowers called an inflorescence. This cluster can hold up to 25 flowers. Each flower is whitish in color and is about 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. That's about the size of your fingernail!
Fruit and Seeds
After the flowers, the plant grows a special kind of fruit called a legume pod. These pods are inflated, meaning they look a bit puffy, and are about 1.5 to 3 centimeters long. When they dry, they become thin and feel like paper. Inside each pod, there's just one section, but it holds many seeds.
Where Does It Grow?
Dean's milkvetch is an endemic plant. This means it naturally grows only in one specific place in the world. For this plant, that place is a small part of southern San Diego County, California. It likes to grow on the slopes of the Peninsular Ranges, which are a series of mountain ranges.
Because it only grows in this small area, it's considered a rare species. Protecting its habitat is very important to make sure this unique plant continues to thrive.
