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Plant Profile

Coachella Valley Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae)

Flowering Coachella Valley Milk-vetch Photo Credit: Sam Stewart

Global Rank: T1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: Federally Endangered
Family: Fabaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 154867
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

The Coachella Valley milk-vetch is an erect, slivery winter annual or short-lived perennial that occurs in dunes and sandy areas of the Coachella Valley (Riverside County, California) in the Sonora desert scrub or creosote bush scrub community. Plants flower from February to May, and the fruit produced is a strongly inflated, two-chambered, mottled legume.

Where is Coachella Valley Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae) located in the wild?

Habitat:

The Coachella Valley milkvetch occurs in ephemeral, coarse sandy soils, or an eolian sand sea. It occurs along roadsides, in washes, and in sandy pockets between 40-660 m (0- ft) in elevation and may also occur in creosote bush scrub or Sonoran desert scrub.

Distribution:

The Coachella Valley milkvetch occurs over approximately 30 sites within the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California. Most populations occur on the eastern edge of the valley. Six additiona

States & Provinces:

Coachella Valley Milkvetch can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Coachella Valley Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae)?

California Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 18 accessions of Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 35477 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/27/2020

The most recent research on the Coachella Valley milk-vetch focuses on habitat suitability (Barrows et al. 2005) and complexity (Barrows and Allen 2007), using statistics to better assess habitat specificity for a suite of rare plants and animals endemic to the Coachella Valley. Less than 300 individuals were seen in 1992 (USFWS 1992) but population sizes fluctuate significantly depending on seasonal rainfall. Additionally, many historic populations have not been visited recently.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden has collected 7 seed accessions of Astragalus lentiginosus var. coachellae from 7 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 131 maternal plants

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Restricted range, small population sizes, and threats to habitat. Threats include urbanization, non-native plants, and off-road vehicles.

Linda Prince

01/01/2010

Coachella Valley milk-vetch was listed as endangered by the federal government in 1998 (USFWS 1998). Primary threats include habitat destruction associated with development, utilities, etc. human activity, (off-road vehicle use, trampling, and the int

Linda Prince

01/01/2010

Less than 300 individuals were seen in 1992 (USFWS 1992) but population sizes fluctuate significantly depending on seasonal rainfall. Additionally, many historic populations have not been visited recently.

Linda Prince

01/01/2010

Linda Prince

01/01/2010

Primarily through the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan protection of core habitat areas large enough to sustain plant populations and natural communities protection of essential ecological processes that maintain these habitats conservation of biological corridors and linkages to provide connectivity

Linda Prince

01/01/2010

Research Management needs are not known at this time.

Linda Prince

01/01/2010

Establish seed bank collections.