Family: Fabaceae

A twining perennial that doesn’t get much over 4’ tall unless it twines up a nearby shrub, spreading to about 3’ wide. Blooms July to September with purple pea-like flowers.

Full to part sun, moderate water, probably hardy to at least 10°F.

Larval host for the following butterflies:

White-striped Longtail (Chioides albofasciatus)

Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis)

Found sprawling over other plants and in rocky canyons from 4,500-6,000’ in Arizona, southern New Mexico, southern Texas; south into northern Mexico.

Galactia comes from the Greek gala, meaning milky, for the sap, while wrightii is named for Charles Wright (1811-1885) an American botanical collector.

Photo of Galactia wrightii by Frank Coburn, SEINET
Galactia wrightii on iNaturalist