Braunton's milkvetch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Braunton's milkvetch |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Astragalus
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| Species: |
brauntonii
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The Braunton's milkvetch (scientific name: Astragalus brauntonii) is a very rare wild plant. It is a type of milkvetch. This plant grows only in California, especially in the hills and mountains around Los Angeles. It is an endangered species in the United States, meaning it is at high risk of disappearing forever.
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Where Braunton's Milkvetch Lives
Braunton's milkvetch grows in special places in California. These include coastal grasslands, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral areas. It often likes to grow in places where the ground has been disturbed, especially in soils that have limestone in them.
Today, there are only about 16 known groups of these plants left. You can find them in parts of the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges. These areas are within Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties. Sadly, they seem to have disappeared from the southern Channel Islands.
What Braunton's Milkvetch Looks Like
Braunton's milkvetch is a large plant that lives for many years. It grows from a woody base and can reach up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) tall. Its thick, hollow stems are covered in rough white hairs.
Leaves and Flowers
The leaves can be up to 16 centimeters (about 6 inches) long. They are made up of many pairs of small, oval-shaped leaflets.
The plant produces a thick cluster of up to 60 bright lilac-colored flowers. Each flower looks like a small pea and is about one centimeter long. The flowers have a hood that bends backward. After blooming, the flowers turn brown but stay on the plant instead of falling off.
Pollination
Native Megachile bees and native bumble bees (like Bombus species) help pollinate this plant. This means they carry pollen from one flower to another, helping the plant make seeds.
Fruit
After pollination, the plant forms a small, bent legume pod. This pod holds the seeds.
How Fire Helps This Plant Grow
Like many plants in chaparral areas, Braunton's milkvetch needs wildfire or other disturbances to grow new plants. Its bean-like seeds have a very tough outer coat. This coat needs to be broken down before the seeds can sprout. This process is called scarification.
Seeds and Sprouting
The seeds can stay in the soil for many years. They wait until a fire happens. After a wildfire, the heat helps break down the tough seed coats. Then, the seeds can sprout, and new plants grow in the recently burned area.
Pioneer Species
Braunton's milkvetch is known as a pioneer species. This means it is one of the first plants to grow in an area after a disturbance, like a fire. However, other plant species soon grow bigger and crowd out the milkvetch.
When people try to stop wildfires in the hills and mountains around Los Angeles, it prevents this plant from reproducing naturally. This is because the seeds need fire to sprout.
See also
In Spanish: Astragalus brauntonii para niños
