Lotus rubriflorus
Encyclopedia
Lotus rubriflorus is a rare species of legume
Faboideae
Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....

 known by the common name red-flowered bird's-foot trefoil. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, where it is known from only four occurrences with a disjunct distribution
Disjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...

. There are two occurrences in eastern Stanislaus County, California
Stanislaus County, California
Stanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the...

, near Mount Boardman
Mount Boardman
Mount Boardman is located in the Diablo Range in California. The summit is near a point where Santa Clara, Alameda, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin counties meet. It was named for W. F...

, and the other two occurrences are in Colusa
Colusa County, California
Colusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, its population was 21,419. The county seat is Colusa.-History:...

 and Tehama Counties
Tehama County, California
Tehama County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is bisected by the Sacramento River. As of 2010 its population was 63,463, up from 56,039 as of 2000. The county seat is Red Bluff.-History:...

 over 100 miles to the north. The plant's habitat is grassland and woodland. This is a petite annual herb spreading in a small patch on the ground. Its slender branches are lined with leaves each made up of about 4 hairy lance-shaped leaflets. Solitary magenta flowers appear in the leaf axils, each minute pea-shaped bloom just a few millimeters wide. The fruit is a hairy legume pod which may approach a centimeter in length.

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