Search / Plant Profile / Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii

Plant Profile

Peirson\'s Milkvetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii)

Global Rank: T1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: Federally Threatened
Family: Fabaceae
State: CA
Nature Serve ID: 155182
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 06/25/2021

Description:

Endemic to the open dunes and deserts of southeastern California, Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii is an endangered, perennial herb that suffers from off-road vehicular activity, habitat fragmentation, and seed predation. Throughout the springtime, Peirson’s milk vetch can be found producing purple flowers with white tips that grow in clusters of 10-15/stem. From a singular woody stem, A. m. var. peirsonii branches out like a broom-shaped scrub that reaches 1-2 ft tall.

Where is Peirson\'s Milkvetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii) located in the wild?

Habitat:

grows on sand dunes within creosote bush scrub

Distribution:

Endemic to the open dunes and deserts of southeastern California, Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii is an endangered, perennial herb that suffers from off-road vehicular activity, habitat fragmentation, and seed predation. Throughout the springtime, Peirson’s milk vetch can be found producing purple flowers with white tips that grow in clusters of 10-15/stem. From a singular woody stem, A. m. var. peirsonii branches out like a broom-shaped scrub that reaches 1-2 ft tall.

States & Provinces:

Peirson\'s Milkvetch can be found in California

Which CPC Partners conserve Peirson\'s Milkvetch (Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii)?

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

Cheryl Birker

11/19/2021

The California Botanic Garden made a conservation seed collection from a population of Astragalus magdelenae var. peirsonii (Peirson’s milkvetch) located near Grays Well in the Algadones Dunes of Imperial County, California on April 6, 2021. This is a recollection of the 2003 seed collection made by J. Mark Porter (CalBG Accession #21036), and a seed sample was sent to the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation for use in the CPC/IMLS RNA Integrity Study. In 2021 California Botanic Garden also began a conservation genetics study of Peirson’s milkvetch funded by the Bureau of Land Management.

Katie Heineman

06/25/2021

In 2021, California Botanic Garden recollected seed from a population of Astragalus magdalenae var. perisonii originally collected in 2003 as part of CPC's IMLS-funded seed longevity project that will evaluate how the germination rates and RNA integrity of this species endures in long term orthodox seed storage.

09/01/2020

Based on an September 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden holds 12 accessions of Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii in orthodox seed collection. There are as many as 12018 seeds of this species in their collection - although some may have been used for curation testing or sent to back up.

08/05/2020

Based on an August 2020 extract of the California Plant Rescue Database, California Botanic Garden has collected 11 seed accessions of Astragalus magdalenae var. peirsonii from 2 plant occurrences listed in the California Natural Diversity Database. These collections together emcompass 313 maternal plants

01/01/2010

military exercises recreational activities off-road vehicles cattle grazing competition with alien plants urbanization stochastic extinction

01/01/2010

currently known to occur along the north and west flanks of the Algodones Dunes extending into northeastern Baja, CA