Taxon Report
Astragalus tener Gray var. teneralkali milk-vetch |
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Taxon Summary
Astragalus tener var. tener, commonly known as alkali milk-vetch, is a annual herb in the Fabaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Playas, Valley and foothill grassland (adobe clay), and Vernal pools, growing at elevations from 1 to 60 meters. Astragalus tener var. tener is ranked 1B.2, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Moderately threatened in California.Classification
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Scientific Name: |
Astragalus tener Gray var. tener |
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Common Name: |
alkali milk-vetch |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Element Code: | PDFAB0F8R1 |
| USDA Plants Symbol: | ASTET2 |
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Synonyms/Other Names: |
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Ecology and Life History
| Lifeform: | annual herb |
| Blooming Period: Mar-Jun | Mar-Jun |
| Elevation: | 1-60 (5-195) |
| General Habitats: | Playas, Valley and foothill grassland, Vernal pools |
| Microhabitat: | Alkaline |
| Microhabitat Details: |
Conservation Status
| CA Rare Plant Rank: | 1B.2 |
| Global Rank: | G2T1 |
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State Rank: |
S1 |
| State List: | None |
| Fed List: | None |
| Other Status: | SB_UCSC |
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CRPR Changes: |
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Occurrence Data from the CNDDB
| Total Occurrences: | 65 |
| Element Occurrence Ranks: | |
| Excellent (A) | 1 |
| Good (B) | 27 |
| Fair (C) | 1 |
| Poor (D) | 2 |
| None (X) | 28 |
| Unknown (U) | 6 |
| California Endemic: True | |
| California Counties and Islands: Name (Code) | |
| Alameda (ALA), Contra Costa (CCA)*, Merced (MER), Monterey (MNT)*, Napa (NAP), San Benito (SBT)*, San Francisco (SFO)*, San Joaquin (SJQ)*, Santa Clara (SCL)*, Solano (SOL), Sonoma (SON)*, Stanislaus (STA)*, Yolo (YOL) | |
| Quads: Name (Quad Code) | |
| Altamont (3712166), Antioch North (3812117), Arena (3712036), Byron Hot Springs (3712176)*, Clifton Court Forebay (3712175)*, Crows Landing (3712141)*, Cuttings Wharf (3812223), Davis (3812156)*, Denverton (3812128), Dixon (3812147)*, Dozier (3812137), Elmira (3812138), Fairfield North (3812231)*, Fairfield South (3812221), Grays Bend (3812166), Gustine (3712038), Hayward (3712261)*, Hollister (3612174)*, Honker Bay (3812118), Milpitas (3712148), Mountain View (3712241)*, Napa (3812233)*, Natividad (3612165), Newark (3712251)*, Oakland East (3712272)*, Oakland West (3712273)*, Petaluma (3812226)*, Petaluma River (3812225), Richmond (3712283)*, Salinas (3612166)*, San Francisco North (3712274)*, San Francisco South (3712264), San Leandro (3712262)*, San Luis Ranch (3712027), Saxon (3812146), Stevinson (3712037), Stockton West (3712183)*, Woodward Island (3712185) | |
Threat List Data from the CNDDB
| Threat List Total: | 12 | |
| EOs with Threat Listed: | Total EOs | % of EOs |
| 35 | 54 % | |
| Grazing | 17 | 26% |
| Development | 12 | 18% |
| Non-native plant impacts | 7 | 10% |
| Agriculture | 6 | 9% |
| Biocides | 2 | 3% |
| Disking | 2 | 3% |
| Foot traffic/trampling | 2 | 3% |
| Improper burning regime | 2 | 3% |
| Other | 2 | 3% |
| Surface water diversion | 1 | 1% |
| Landfill | 1 | 1% |
| ORV activity | 1 | 1% |
Notes
| Threatened by development, competition from non-native plants, and habitat destruction, especially agricultural conversion. Possibly threatened by trampling. Potentially threatened by energy transmission line construction. See Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 6:206 (1864) for original description, and Systematic Botany 17(3):367-379 (1992) for distributional information. |
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Threats: |
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Taxonomy: |
Citation
California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 24 October 2025].