Lotus corniculatus
Lotus subbiflorus
bird's-foot trefoil, birdfoot trefoil, common bird's-foot trefoil, garden bird's-foot-trefoil
hairy bird's-foot trefoil
ascending or prostrate, solid, not succulent.
erect to decumbent, solid, not succulent.
5–30 mm;
rachis (1–)2–10 mm;
leaflet blades sometimes asymmetric, obovate to oblanceolate, oblong, or ovate, 4–22 × 2–11 mm, length 1.6–3(–4) times width, apex obtuse and mucronate or acuminate.
8–15[–25] mm;
rachis 2–4 mm;
leaflet blades: basal 2 ovate, terminal 3 obovate to oblong or lanceolate, 5–10[–20] × 1–5.5[–8] mm, length 2–4 times width, apex acute to obtuse, often mucronate.
(1–)3–8(–10)-flowered;
bracts (1–)3-foliolate.
(1 or)2–4(–6)-flowered;
bracts 3-foliolate.
decumbent to erect, 1.5–12 cm.
ascending to declined, 0.7–3[–15] cm.
10–17 mm;
calyx 5–7.5 mm, lobes not recurved in bud, usually triangular, rarely ovate, (1.5–)2.5–4.5 mm, shorter to slightly longer than tube, tube villous;
petals bright yellow, marked with red, turning orange, 8–14 mm, wings shorter to longer than keel.
5.5–7[–10] mm;
calyx 3.3–4.7 mm, lobes not recurved in bud, linear, 2.5–3.2 mm, longer than tube, tube hirsute;
petals yellow, turning reddish, 5–6.7[–10] mm, wings shorter than angled and beaked keel.
brown, narrowly oblong, 15–35 × 2–3 mm, not septate.
brown, cylindric, 7–10 × 0.7–1.2 mm, not or partially septate.
5–30, yellowish or light to dark brown, mottled or sometimes not, globose to round-oblong, 1–1.7 mm, smooth.
8–10, brown to greenish brown, ± mottled, globose to round-oblong, 1 mm, smooth.
= 24.
= 12, 24 (Europe).
Lotus corniculatus
Lotus subbiflorus
Lotus corniculatus has been widely introduced both as a forage crop and for roadside stabilization throughout North America. M. D. Ross and W. T. Jones (1985) presented evidence that L. corniculatus is an allotetraploid derived from the hybrid between either L. tenuis or L. alpinus (Seringe) Schleicher ex Ramond, as the pistillate parent, and L. uliginosus. This would explain the close morphological similarity with L. tenuis.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Lotus subbiflorus is easily distinguished by its very hirsute foliage and its sharply angled, beaked keel that is longer than the wings.
The introduced Lotus subbiflorus was collected first in 2009 at four locations in Curry County. The taxon is introduced elsewhere in the world, reported under the names L. hispidus, L. subbiflorus, or L. suaevolens (R. P. Randall 2002); when plotted worldwide, reports of L. hispidus and L. subbiflorus have similar overall distributions. Thus, it seems that in areas outside the native range, only a single entity is present that should be called L. subbiflorus.
The name Lotus hispidus Desfontaines (1804) was considered an invalid name by T. E. Kramina (2006). Kramina, however, appears to have been unaware of the subsequent validation of the name by de Candolle: L. hispidus Desfontaines ex de Candolle in J. Lamarck and A. P. de Candolle, Fl. Franç. ed. 3, 4: 556. 17 Sep 1805. The exact publication date of the name L. subbiflorus by Lagasca, however, is not known, but it may have been late in 1805 because Varied. Ci. 2(4) has 6 numbers (19–24) that were issued in 1805, and the name was published in number 22. Without an exact date for that publication, it is not possible to decide which name has priority, and currently the name L. subbiflorus is adopted for the species.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
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- Wikipedia
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