Lotus subbiflorus
Lotus angustissimus
hairy bird's-foot trefoil
slender bird's-foot trefoil, slender lotus, slender trefoil
erect to decumbent, solid, not succulent.
prostrate, solid, not succulent.
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.
7–21 mm;
rachis 2–3.5(–4.5) mm;
leaflet blades elliptic to narrowly obovate, 8–12(–16) × 2–6 mm, length 1.7–4 times width, apex usually acute, sometimes obtuse.
(1 or)2–4(–6)-flowered;
bracts 3-foliolate.
1–3-flowered;
bracts 1–3-foliolate.
ascending to declined, 0.7–3[–15] cm.
decumbent to ascending, 0.5–2 cm.
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.
5–12 mm;
calyx 4–7 mm, lobes not recurved in bud, narrowly lanceolate, 4 mm, longer than tube, tube villous;
petals yellow, turning pink, (4–)5–8 mm, wings shorter than keel.
brown, cylindric, 7–10 × 0.7–1.2 mm, not or partially septate.
reddish brown, linear, 12–30 × 1–2 mm, septate.
8–10, brown to greenish brown, ± mottled, globose to round-oblong, 1 mm, smooth.
18–30, light olive to light brown, not mottled, globose, 0.6 mm, smooth.
= 12, 24 (Europe).
= 12, 24 (Europe).
Lotus subbiflorus
Lotus angustissimus
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.)
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Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
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