Flora of North America species comparison

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Acmispon strigosus

Acmispon tomentosus

strigose lotus
Habit Herbs, annual, usually mat-forming, sometimes cespitose (ascending and bushy), green to grayish, 0.3–5 dm, not or ± fleshy, strigillose, hirsute, canescent-tomentose, or scantily pubescent; taprooted. Herbs, perennial (often flowering first year, appearing annual), mat-forming, low, green, 3–10 dm, not fleshy, usually distally villous (young), sparsely hirsute to glabrate (mature); from woody caudices, taprooted.
Stems

1–20+, procumbent or decumbent to ascending, branched basally, herbaceous, slender, leafy.

1–10+, procumbent, much branched, wiry or ± woody, leafy.
Leaves

irregularly pinnate;

stipules glandlike;

subsessile;

rachis 3–20 mm, flattened;

leaflets 4–10, blades unequal, obovate to oblanceolate to linear-oblong or oblong, apex acute to obtuse or truncate, surfaces ± densely tomentose to glabrate.

irregularly subpalmate;

stipules glandlike;

subessile to petiolate;

rachis 2–10 mm, sometimes flattened;

leaflets 4–6, blades ovate to obovate, apex ± obtuse to acute, surfaces sparsely to densely pilose.
Inflorescences

1–3-flowered.

3–8-flowered.
Peduncles

ascending or reflexed, upturned, 3–25 mm, shorter to longer than leaves (often elongated in fruit);

bract absent or 1–3-foliolate, usually subtending umbel.

ascending, 1–5 mm, shorter than leaves;

bract unifoliolate, distal.
Flowers

(5–)6–10(–12) mm;

calyx 3–5.5 mm, tube ± sparsely strigillose or glabrous, lobes subulate;

corolla yellow (sometimes banner orangish abaxially), turning orange or reddish, claws ± equaling calyx tube, banner implicate-ascending or remaining closely implicate, wings longer than keel;

style corneously thickened, marked by color, straight, puberulent or glabrous.

4–6(–7) mm;

calyx 2–4 mm, tube usually villous, lobes setaceous;

corolla yellow to reddish, dark-tipped, claws shorter than or equaling calyx tube, banner implicate-ascending, wings equaling to longer than keel (and other petals);

style geniculate 90° or incurved, glabrous.
Legumes

persistent, exserted, erect or divergent, brown, straight to ± curved distally, compressed, not or slightly constricted, incompletely septate, linear-oblong, 10–35 × 2–3 mm, thinly leathery, apex initially short-beaked, dehiscent, smooth, margins smooth, thin, glabrous or ± strigose.

deciduous with calyx, exserted, ascending to divergent, tawny, straight to strongly arched, turgid, not constricted, not septate, linear-oblong, 3–5 × 1–2 mm, leathery, apex abruptly tapering to long, curved beak, indehiscent, smooth, margins indistinctly keeled, smooth, villous.
Seeds

5–10, greenish to brown, ± mottled, ovoid to cuboid or globose, rugulose or granular.

1 or 2, olive green to brownish green, not mottled, straight to curved, narrowly ellipsoid, smooth.

Acmispon strigosus

Acmispon tomentosus
Distribution
sw United States; n Mexico
[BONAP county map]
nw Mexico; California
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

D. Isely (1981) discussed the variation in Acmispon strigosus (as Lotus), distinguishing three varieties, two rather distinct but with intergrading phases, and one apparently more transitional, although distinct enough to be recognized. These varieties were only noted for California in recent treatments (for example, L. Brouillet 2012, following D. Isely 1993). Nonetheless, the typical (for example, excluding intergrading phases) varieties represent recognizable morphologies that also have geographic distinction. Specimens representing intergradation seem to occur throughout the range of overlap of these varieties, sometimes rendering determination difficult.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Herbs evidently hirsute, especially at apex, greenish.
var. hirtellus
1. Herbs usually strigillose or canescent-tomentose to scantly pubescent, rarely strigillose, green or cinereous.
→ 2
2. Stems ascending or decumbent, not markedly succulent, usually appearing green, sometimes cinereous; leaflet blades linear-oblong, apices acute to obtuse; corolla opening; California.
var. strigosus
2. Stems prostrate, succulent, cinereous(–greenish); leaflet blades oblong, apices obtuse or truncate; corolla not opening; Arizona, California, Nevada.
var. tomentellus
1. Stems usually villous distally; flowers 5–6(–7) mm; ovaries usually ± densely strigose.
var. tomentosus
1. Stems glabrate or villous distally; flowers 4–5 mm; ovaries usually sparsely strigose.
var. glabriusculus
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Acmispon Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Acmispon
Sibling taxa
A. americanus, A. argophyllus, A. argyraeus, A. brachycarpus, A. cytisoides, A. decumbens, A. dendroideus, A. denticulatus, A. glaber, A. grandiflorus, A. haydonii, A. intricatus, A. junceus, A. maritimus, A. mearnsii, A. micranthus, A. neomexicanus, A. parviflorus, A. plebeius, A. procumbens, A. prostratus, A. rigidus, A. rubriflorus, A. tomentosus, A. utahensis, A. wrangelianus, A. wrightii
A. americanus, A. argophyllus, A. argyraeus, A. brachycarpus, A. cytisoides, A. decumbens, A. dendroideus, A. denticulatus, A. glaber, A. grandiflorus, A. haydonii, A. intricatus, A. junceus, A. maritimus, A. mearnsii, A. micranthus, A. neomexicanus, A. parviflorus, A. plebeius, A. procumbens, A. prostratus, A. rigidus, A. rubriflorus, A. strigosus, A. utahensis, A. wrangelianus, A. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
A. strigosus var. hirtellus, A. strigosus var. strigosus, A. strigosus var. tomentellus
A. tomentosus var. glabriusculus, A. tomentosus var. tomentosus
Synonyms Hosackia strigosa, Anisolotus strigosus, Lotus strigosus, Ottleya strigosa Hosackia tomentosa
Name authority (Nuttall) Brouillet: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2: 392. (2008) (Hooker & Arnott) Govaerts: Skvortsovia 4(3): 76. (2018)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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