Herbs, annual, cespitose, grayish green, 0.5–3 dm, ± not fleshy, sparsely villous to glabrate; taprooted. Stems 1–20+, usually procumbent (when small, unbranched, erect or ascending), diffusely branched proximally, herbaceous, leafy. Leaves irregularly pinnate; stipules glandlike or absent; petiolate; rachis 5–15 mm, flat­tened; leaflets (3 or)4(or 5), usually 2 on one side and 2 terminal, blades elliptic to obovate (lateral some­times asymmetric), apex usually obtuse, sometimes acute, sur­faces sparsely long-ciliate, pubescent. Peduncles ascend­ing, 0–2 mm, shorter than leaves; bract absent. Inflores­cences 1-flowered. Flowers 5–9 mm; calyx 2.5–5 mm, tube pubescent to villous, lobes lanceolate; corolla yel­low, turning red, claws shorter than calyx tube, banner implicate-ascending, with irregular or inrolled margins, wings shorter than keel; style ± curved, glabrous. Legumes persistent, exserted, erect or spreading, tawny to brown, straight, compressed, slightly constricted, ± septate, oblong, 10–18 × 2.2–3 mm, thinly leathery, apex abruptly downward angled and curved, dehiscent, smooth, margins smooth, thin, pubescent (to glabrate). Seeds 3–7, olive green to brown, not mottled, asymmetric-reniform, smooth. 2n = 12.

Phenology: Flowering (late winter–)spring(–early summer).
Habitat: Coastal bluffs, hills, open or rocky slopes, chaparral, coastal scrub, oak woodlands or savannas, grasslands, stream banks, vernal ponds, gravelly, sandy, or clayey soils, bare areas, burnt or disturbed areas, roadsides.
Elevation: 0–1200(–2200) m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Calif., Oreg.

Discussion

Acmispon wrangelianus is widespread in California, except in the Mojave Desert, barely entering Oregon in Jackson County; it is possibly introduced in the Modoc Plateau and Sonoran Desert. It was found in 1911 on ballast in Multnomah County, Oregon, but does not appear to have become established there.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.