Mancos milk-vetch plant with fruit

The Mancos milkvetch (Astraualus humillimus Gray ex. Brandegee) was listed as an endangered species on June 27, 1985 (USFWS 1985a) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The species is known from northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado (Four Corners area), occurring in scattered populations between the town of Towaoc, Colorado, and the Chaco River of New Mexico. This species remained virtually unknown after its discovery in 1875 until a chance collection near Waterflow, New Mexico, in 1980.