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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Fabaceae
Lotus subbiflorus

Citation: Lagasca, Varied. Ci. 2, 4:213 (1805).

Synonymy: L. hispidus Desf. ex DC. in Lam. & DC., FI. Franc. edn 3, 6:572 (1815), non DC. (1805). , Lotus suaveolens

Common name: Hairy birds-foot trefoil, Boyds clover.

Description:
Villous much-branched straggling annual, stems terete, 10-30 cm long (in S.Aust.), hollow; leaflets obovate-oblong or oblong, lanceolate, 5-20 x 2-8 mm, sericeous, lower pair sometimes smaller and/or nearly cordate, longer than the petiole.

Flowers 6-10 mm long, 1-4 usually 3 per umbel, on peduncles 1-3 cm long, 2-3 times longer than the leaf; bracts 3, leafy, at the summit ovate-lanceolate, smaller than the corresponding leaflets; calyx narrow-obconical, c. 5 mm long, sericeous, teeth subequal, lanceolate-subulate, 1-2 times longer than the tube; petals yellow, 5-8 mm long; standard obovate-spathulate, a little longer than the others; wings oblong-obovate, narrower and a bit shorter than the keel; keel triangular, on a short claw, obtusely angled along the lower edge, with a long straight pointed beak distinctly protruding.

Pods cylindrical, 6-16 x 1.5-2 mm, straight, to 3 times as long as the calyx, brown, 8-12-seeded; seed subglobose, c. 1 mm, brown or olive-green with dark spots, shining.

image of FSA2_Lotus_sub.jpg
Image source: fig. 344B in J.P. Jessop and H.R. Toelken Ed. 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Published illustration: Ross-Craig (1954) Drawings Brit. Pl. 7:t. 47 as L. hispidus.

Distribution:  S.Aust.: EP, SL, SE.   W.Aust.; N.S.W.; Vic.; Tas.   native to Europe and North Africa; introduced to New Zealand.

Conservation status: naturalised

Flowering time: Dec. — Feb.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Author: Not yet available


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