Webber's milkvetch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Webber's milkvetch |
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Astragalus webberi, also known as Webber'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 particular milkvetch only grows in one specific area: the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Plumas County, eastern California. Because it grows only there, it's called an endemic species.
What Does Webber's Milkvetch Look Like?
Webber's milkvetch is a plant that comes back year after year. It's called a perennial herb. Its stems can spread out up to 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) long. Part of the stem even grows underground!
The leaves of this plant can be up to 15 centimeters (about 6 inches) long. Each leaf is made up of many smaller, oval-shaped pieces called leaflets.
When it blooms, the plant produces a cluster of 6 to 14 cream-colored flowers. Each flower is about one to two centimeters long. After the flowers, the plant grows a fruit. This fruit is a tough, leathery pod, like a pea pod, and it's about 2 to 3.5 centimeters long. These pods contain the seeds for new plants.
