Q: A friend of mine took the attached photo while we were out walking along Kinney Road. Do you know what it is called? Oddest thing we've seen here in Tucson so far.
A: The odd looking plant you found is Wooton's locoweed, also called half-moon milk vetch (Astragalus wootonii). It’s a Southwest desert native and can be found from the California desert into Texas. It’s a member of the legume family Fabaceae. According to the USDA, it is a winter annual in the Southwest deserts and in wet winters can be a major component of the creosote bush and saguaro cactus desert, mesquite savannahs, and desert grasslands. It germinates following autumn rains and continues to grow through the winter, becoming a large, robust plant with white to pinkish-purple flowers, followed by large, inflated, single-compartment pods. Once seeds are set, it dies back. Since it remains green and actively growing over winter, it is relatively palatable and poses a significant risk of poisoning for grazing animals
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