Taxon Report

Acmispon argophyllus (A. Gray) Brouillet var. niveus (Greene) Brouillet

Santa Cruz Island bird's-foot trefoil

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Acmispon argophyllus var. niveus, commonly known as Santa Cruz Island bird's-foot trefoil, is a perennial herb in the Fabaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, Coastal bluff scrub, and Coastal scrub, growing at elevations from 5 to 680 meters. Acmispon argophyllus var. niveus is ranked 4.3, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Acmispon argophyllus (A. Gray) Brouillet var. niveus (Greene) Brouillet
Common Name:	Santa Cruz Island bird's-foot trefoil
Family:	Fabaceae
Element Code:	PDFAB2A048
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:	Lotus argophyllus var. niveus

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial herb
Blooming Period: Mar-Jul(Sep)	Mar-Jul(Sep)
Elevation:	5-680 (15-2230)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Coastal bluff scrub, Coastal scrub
Microhabitat:	Rocky
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.3
Global Rank:	G5T3
State Rank:	S3
State List:	CE
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:	changed from 4.2 to 4.3 on 2012-02-24

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	24
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	24

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Santa Barbara (SBA), Ventura (VEN)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
San Nicolas Island (3311924), Santa Cruz Island A (3311987), Santa Cruz Island B (3311986), Santa Cruz Island C (3311985), Santa Cruz Island D (3311984)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	2
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	4	17 %
Grazing	3	12%
Non-native animal impacts	1	4%

Notes



Increasing after reduction of feral sheep population.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Bulletin of the California Academy of Sciences 2(6B): 148–149. 1886.

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 4 November 2025].