Clara Hunt's Milk Vetch
See photo info

Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

CLARA HUNT'S MILKVETCH
(Astragalus clarianus)

Clara Hunt's Milk Vetch
See photo info

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 62-54791   pdf; October 22, 1997)

CRITICAL HABITAT:  None designated

RECOVERY PLAN:  Recovery Plan for Coastal Plants (under development)

DESCRIPTION:

Clara Hunt's milkvetch (Astragalus clarianus) is a low-growing herb belonging to the pea family (Fabaceae). It is sparingly leafy, slender, and covered with short, sharp hairs that are close to the plant. The single or few-branching stems reach 3 to 8 inches. Leaves are alternate and 1/2 to 2 inches long.

Small, pea-like flowers appear March through April. Flower petals are white and purple. Seed pods are either hanging or horizontal and are narrow, linear, slightly curved, pointed on both ends, and grow on a slender stalk.  See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of the species.

DISTRIBUTION:

Clara Hunt's milkvetch is found on serpentine soils or some thin, rocky volcanic clay soils in foothill grasslands and openings in manzanita and blue oak woodlands. Historically, occurrences have been found in Yolo, Napa and Sonoma counties. The California Natural Diversity Database currently lists four populations in Napa County and one in Sonoma County as presumed extant.

As with most annual plant species, large variations in plant numbers can occur from year to year. Such fluctuations in plant numbers are due to many factors including adequate rainfall, timing of rainfall, and growing season temperatures. The presence of the plant and flowering period may be very abbreviated in some years.

THREATS:

Recreational development and nonnative plants. Two of the historically known populations have been extirpated.

STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:

The plant is listed as threatened by the State of California in January 1990. The California Native Plant Society has placed it on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1997. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Nine Plants From the Grasslands or Mesic Areas of the Central Coast of California. Portland, Oregon.

General Information about California Plants

Credits: Close-up photo of Clara Hunt's milk vetch by Roxanne Bittman, © 1989 California Native Plant Society Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0502 0728. Photo of a group of plants by Rick York, © California Native Plant Society.

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Contact us: Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, California 95825 Phone (916) 414-6600 ~ FAX (916) 414-6713 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a part of the United States Government Department of Interior Many documents on our web site are published using Adobe's® Portable Document Format (PDF). To display or print these documents, you must use the Acrobat® reader, which you can download free at Acrobat® Reader. Privacy and Security, Disclaimer, Copyright and Technology Requirements Webmaster fw1sacweb@fws.gov (To comment on specific issues see our comment page.) is the U.S. Government Search Engine Regulations.gov - Federal web site that makes it easier for you to participate in Federal rulemaking. On this site, you can find, review, and submit comments on Federal documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register, the Government's legal newspaper.

Students! Career-related training and employment. Protect and conserve fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. Vacation, holiday and sick leave. Your student job could lead to a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Check out the national Student Job page.