Flora of North America species comparison

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Hosackia pinnata

Hosackia

bog bird's-foot lotus, bog bird's-foot trefoil, bog deervetch, meadow bird's-foot-trefoil, meadow deervetch, meadow or bog bird's-foot trefoil, pinnate lotus

birdsfoot-trefoil, deervetch, lotus
Habit Herbs usually robust, 15–50 cm, glabrous; rhizomatous, rhizomes spongy-thickened, whitish, rooting at nodes. Herbs, perennial, unarmed.
Stems

1–5, usually ascending, sometimes decumbent, unbranched or branched, ± fleshy or not.

erect, ascending, decumbent, or procumbent, glabrous or glabrate to pubescent, puberulent, villous, or canescent to silky.
Leaves

stipules ovate, 2–5 mm, scarious;

petiolate;

rachis straight, 2–7 cm;

leaflets 5–9(–11), petiolulate, blades usually elliptic to obovate, rarely oblanceolate, (7–)10–25 mm, apex emarginate or rounded to obtuse or acute, surfaces glabrous.

alternate, odd-pinnate;

stipules present, caducous, leafy or scarious;

petiolate;

leaflets 3–19, regularly arranged, blade margins entire, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.
Inflorescences

1–20-flowered, axillary, umbels or solitary flowers;

bract usually present (absent in H. alamosana), medial or subtending umbel.
Peduncles

ascending, (1–)5–10 cm, longer than subtending leaf, elongating in fruit, glabrous;

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

Umbels

4–10-flowered.

Flowers

10–15 mm;

calyx reddish, 5.5–7.5 mm, glabrous, tube obconic-cylindric, 4–5 mm, lobes abaxial 3 subulate to lanceolate, adaxial 2 triangular, 1–2 mm, usually eciliate, sometimes sparsely ciliate;

corolla banner and keel yellow, wings white or cream, wings longer than keel, claw longer than calyx tube, banner reflexed to 180°, keel apex subacute.

papilionaceous;

calyx actinomorphic to slightly zygomorphic, cylindric to obconic-cylindric, lobes 5;

corolla yellow, cream, white, pink, purple, red, or lurid, keel equaling or longer than symmetrically positioned wings;

stamens 10, diadelphous;

anthers basifixed, relatively small, dehiscing longitudinally;

style glabrous, without collar;

stigma terminal.
Fruits

legumes, exserted from calyx, straight, not deflexed, linear to oblong, subterete to quadrate, abruptly short-beaked, dehiscent, usually glabrous, sometimes ± hairy or glabrate.
Legumes

± ascending to ± inclined, ± reddish to dark brown, linear-oblong, turgid, 30–50(–85) × 1.5–2.5 mm, thinly leathery, incompletely septate, glabrous.

Seeds

8–20, olive to reddish or dark brown, oblong, 1.5 mm.

(2–)4–20(or 21), mottled, oblong, ovoid, obovoid, or reniform.
x

= 7.
2n

= 14.

Hosackia pinnata

Hosackia
Phenology Flowering spring–early summer.
Habitat Wet to moist, open areas, springy meadows, bogs, wetlands, springs, streambeds, stream banks, seepages, in water, ditches.
Elevation 30–2500 m. (100–8200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
w North America; Mexico; Central America (Guatemala)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Hosackia pinnata reaches its northern limit near Nanaimo, southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia (M. Donovan 2006). It ranges southward along the inner foothills of the coastal ranges (avoiding areas of high precipitation) and in the Cascade Range, to the Coast Ranges of California (to Santa Barbara County) and along the Sierra Nevada. Hosackia pinnata is sometimes disjunct inland to eastern Washington and northwestern Idaho and, rarely, in central Oregon.

Hosackia bicolor Douglas ex Bentham and Lotus bicolor Frye & Rigg are both superfluous, illegitimate names that pertain to H. pinnata.

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

Species 14 (9 in the flora).

Five species of Hosackia are found in Mexico and not in the flora area: H. confinis (Greene) Brand, H. guadalupensis (Greene) Brand, H. hintoniorum (B. L. Turner) D. D. Sokoloff, H. mexicana Bentham, and H. repens G. Don, which occurs also in Guatemala.

Throughout the twentieth century, Hosackia usually was included within Lotus (D. Isely 1981, 1993). Phylogenetic work, both morphologic (A. M. Arambarri 2000) and molecular (G. J. Allan and J. M. Porter 2000; Allan et al. 2003; D. D. Sokoloff et al. 2007), has shown that Hosackia is distinct from the Eurasian Lotus and the North American Acmispon. Morphologic features that distinguish Hosackia include the well-developed stipules versus glandlike or reduced in Acmispon, and 3–15-pinnate leaves (proximal leaflet pairs not in stipular position as in Lotus) with regularly arranged leaflets versus irregularly or ± palmately arranged in Acmispon. Hosackia is distinctive in Loteae also by frequently being found in more or less wet habitats.

For definitions of “implicate” and “implicate-ascending” (in reference to the banner petal), see the discussion under 123. Acmispon.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Herbs mat-forming, 5–40 cm, taprooted, sometimes with woody caudex; stems usually decumbent, sometimes ascending or procumbent; leaves: rachis 0.5–1.5 cm, leaflets 3–5(–7), blade surfaces glabrous; umbels 1–3(or 4)-flowered; petal claws ± equaling calyx tube; legumes ascending to erect.
→ 2
2. Flowers (7–)8–10 mm, banner yellow, wings and keel whitish yellow, calyx lobes triangular to triangular-subulate, 0.5–1 mm; legumes narrowly oblong, compressed, leathery; seeds (2–)4–7, oblong; stipules inconspicuous, scarious.
H. yollabolliensis
2. Flowers 5–7(–9) mm, banner yellow, wings and keel white or cream, becoming reddish tinged, calyx lobes lanceolate, 0.5–2 mm; legumes linear-oblong, turgid, thinly leathery; seeds (8–)10–13(–15), reniform, flattened; stipules 1.5–3.5 mm, membranous.
H. alamosana
1. Herbs not mat-forming, 10–150 cm, usually rhizomatous, stoloniferous, or root-spreading, sometimes with caudex; stems usually erect to ascending, sometimes decumbent; leaves: rachis 1–12 cm, leaflets (3 or)5–15(–19), blade surfaces glabrous or hairy; umbels (1–)3–20-flowered; petal claws usually longer, sometimes ± equaling to slightly longer, than calyx tube; legumes ± ascending to ± inclined.
→ 3
3. Corolla banner yellow; stems decumbent to ascending; peduncles equaling or longer than subtending leaf, bract absent or subtending umbel; seeds (6–)8–20(or 21).
→ 4
4. Leaflet blades appressed-hairy to hirsute or glabrous; calyx green, hairy; petal claws ± equaling to slightly longer than calyx tube, banner implicate-ascending; legumes leathery, not septate.
H. oblongifolia
4. Leaflet blades glabrous; calyx reddish, glabrous; petal claws longer than calyx tube, banner reflexed to 180°; legumes thinly leathery, incompletely septate.
→ 5
5. Stems ± fleshy or not; corolla: wings white or cream, keel yellow, wings longer than keel; legumes linear-oblong; peduncle bract 1(or 3)-foliolate or absent; leaf rachis 2–7 cm, leaflet blades (7–)10–25 mm.
H. pinnata
5. Stems fleshy, base often spongy; corolla: wings and keel pale to dark pink, sometimes whitish, keel pink- to purple-tipped, wings equaling or longer than keel; legumes oblong; peduncle bract 1 or 3(–7)-foliolate; leaf rachis 1–4 cm, leaflet blades 6–20 mm.
H. gracilis
3. Corolla banner red, purple, pink, rose, or white, or greenish or whitish becoming marked with red or purple; stems usually erect or ascending, sometimes decumbent (H. rosea); peduncles usually shorter than subtending leaf (equaling or longer in H. rosea), bract absent or medial, sometimes subtending umbel (H. incana); seeds 3–12.
→ 6
6. Herbs densely silvery- to golden-villous or -canescent; corolla banner red, wings and keel white, keel apex obtuse; leaflets (5–)7–11(–15).
H. incana
6. Herbs villous and legume ± hairy, or sparsely strigulose, puberulent, or glabrate, some­times glabrous (H. stipularis); corolla purple, pink, or white, wings sometimes white, or greenish or whitish becoming marked with red or purple, keel apex acute; leaflets (7–)9–15(–19).
→ 7
7. Stipules widely ovate to lanceolate, base auriculate or subauriculate; leaf rachis 2–8 cm; calyx ± hairy, sometimes glandular; corolla banner and keel purple or pink, wings white; legumes thinly leathery.
H. stipularis
7. Stipules triangular or ovate to lanceolate, base not auriculate or subauriculate; leaf rachis 6–12 cm; calyx glabrous; corolla banner, keel, and wings white to pinkish or rose, or initially greenish or whitish with red or lurid patches, strips, or tips; legumes leathery.
→ 8
8. Umbels 6–10(–12)-flowered; corollas symmetric, white to pinkish or rose, becoming red- or pink-striate or tipped, wings longer than keel; legumes oblong, (15–)30–40 mm, not septate; peduncles little elongating in fruit; stems ± fleshy or not.
H. rosea
8. Umbels 8–20-flowered; corollas asymmetric, greenish or whitish becoming marked with red or purple, wings ± equaling keel; legumes linear, (10–)35–70 mm, incompletely septate; peduncles elongating in fruit; stems fleshy.
H. crassifolia
Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11. Author: Luc Brouillet.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Hosackia Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae
Sibling taxa
H. alamosana, H. crassifolia, H. gracilis, H. incana, H. oblongifolia, H. rosea, H. stipularis, H. yollabolliensis
Subordinate taxa
H. alamosana, H. crassifolia, H. gracilis, H. incana, H. oblongifolia, H. pinnata, H. rosea, H. stipularis, H. yollabolliensis
Synonyms Lotus pinnatus
Name authority (Hooker) Abrams in L. Abrams and R. S. Ferris: Ill. Fl. Pacific States 2: 541. (1944) Douglas ex Bentham: Edwards’s Bot. Reg. 15: plate 1257. (1829)
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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