Widow's milkvetch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Widow's milkvetch |
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Astragalus layneae, also known as widow's milkvetch, is a type of plant that belongs to the milkvetch family. You can find this plant growing naturally in the Mojave Desert and the mountain areas nearby. It lives in parts of California and Nevada in the United States.
What it Looks Like
This plant is a small perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for more than two years, and it's not woody like a tree. It grows from a deep underground stem called a rhizome. The stems of the widow's milkvetch stand upright and usually grow to be about 16 centimeters tall, which is roughly the length of a pen.
The leaves of this plant are made up of many smaller, oval-shaped leaflets. Both the stems and the leaves are covered in soft, gray-green hairs, giving the plant a fuzzy look.
Flowers and Fruit
The plant's flowers grow in a cluster called an inflorescence. This flower cluster is also covered in dark hairs. Each plant can have up to 45 flowers! Each flower is about one to two centimeters long. They have pretty white petals that are tipped and streaked with bright purple colors.
After the flowers bloom, they turn into a fruit called a legume pod. These pods hang down and can be up to 6.5 centimeters long. They have a curved shape and feel leathery and hairy when you touch them.
