Flower profile
Utah milkvetch
Astragalus utahensis
Utah milkvetch (Astragalus utahensis) is a flowering plant in the Fabaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly April–May across the U.S.
Utah milkvetch is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. In Utah it's most often seen in bloom in April–May.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
On our lists for: Utah
Quick look
Astragalus utahensis, commonly called the Utah milkvetch, is a species of plant in the legume family.
- It belongs to the Fabaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 5 states. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to Utah. NatureServe
- In Utah, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–May. iNaturalist
- iNaturalist has 1,314 research-grade sightings of it in Utah, ranking #37 among the 153 flowers on our Utah list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
In Utah, most flowering sightings come in April–May.
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- G4 Apparently secure worldwide. NatureServe
- Utah
- No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Utah.
- Rare elsewhere
- No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
ASPCA's entry “Loco Weed (Astragalus spp.)” (Astragalus spp), which covers the whole genus, lists it as toxic to horses. Signs include: Incoordination, depression, inability to eat and drink, fetal death and birth defects Credit: Image Courtesy of Gary Coffman, PBase.com Gallery… ASPCA
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records Utah milkvetch in 5 states.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming.
Utah counties with USDA records: Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Davis, Duchesne, Garfield, Iron, Juab, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber.
Names, range and relatives
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 41 counties across 4 states; the most are in Utah (23), Idaho (10), Nevada (6).
Other Astragalus on Bloomipedia (12): Woollypod milkvetch, Ground-plum, Woolly locoweed, Drummond's milkvetch, Laxmann's milkvetch, Early purple milkvetch, Alpine milkvetch, Timber milkvetch, Browse milkvetch, Tufted milkvetch.
More from the Fabaceae family (114 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Lupines, White clover, Red clover, Eastern redbud, Purple crownvetch, Bird's-foot trefoil, Partridge pea, White sweetclover.
More Utah flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile ASUT.
- iNaturalist, Astragalus utahensis: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Astragalus utahensis (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Utah: Utah noxious weed list (Utah Admin. Code R68-9-3).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Astragalus utahensis (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: ASPCA.
- Photo: Daughter Dad via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.