Flora of North America species comparison

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Lotus subbiflorus

hairy bird's-foot trefoil
Habit Herbs annual, 7–25[–100] cm, hirsute; taprooted.
Stems

erect to decumbent, solid, not succulent.
Leaves

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.
Inflorescences

(1 or)2–4(–6)-flowered;

bracts 3-foliolate.
Peduncles

ascending to declined, 0.7–3[–15] cm.
Flowers

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.
Legumes

brown, cylindric, 7–10 × 0.7–1.2 mm, not or partially septate.
Seeds

8–10, brown to greenish brown, ± mottled, globose to round-oblong, 1 mm, smooth.
2n

= 12, 24 (Europe).

Lotus subbiflorus
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Moist roadside ditches.
Elevation 40–200 m. (100–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; w Europe; n Africa (Algeria); Atlantic Islands (Azores) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Argentina), Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)
Source FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lotus
Sibling taxa
L. angustissimus, L. corniculatus, L. krylovii, L. tenuis, L. uliginosus
Synonyms L. hispidus, L. suaevolens
Name authority Lagasca: Varied. Ci. 2(4): 213. (1805)
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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