Appearance
''Astragalus purshii'' is a small perennial herb forming low matts on the ground no taller than 14 centimeters and generally less than 5 centimeters. The leaves are up to 15 centimeters long and are made up of many oval or rounded leaflets. Stems and leaflets are coated in woolly white hairs giving a silver color to the foliage.The inflorescence is a cluster of 1 to 11 pink, rose, purple, or white flowers each between 1 and 3 centimeters long. The fruit is a legume pod up to 3 centimeters long which is coated densely in thick white wooly hairs resembling a small rabbits-foot or cottonball.
Distribution
The plant is native to much of western North America, including the southwestern provinces of Canada, the northwestern United States, Nevada, and across California.It is known from many types of habitat, including mountains and deserts. It is common along the Columbia River in arid, shrub-steppe habitat growing in shallow soils which generally excludes sagebrush. It is a seral species preferring disturbed rocky soils.
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