Lotus stipularis
Encyclopedia
Lotus stipularis is a species of legume
known by the common name balsam bird's-foot trefoil. It is endemic to California
, where it is known from most of the northern and central coastal and inland mountain ranges and foothills. It can be found in many types of habitat, including forest, chaparral
, and disturbed areas. This is a mostly erect perennial herb with a leafy, often hairy and glandular form. Its slender branches are lined with leaves each made of several leaflets up to 2 centimeters long. The leaves sometimes have prominent stipule
s. The inflorescence
is a compact array of up to 9 pink flowers. Each flower is elongated, the corolla borne in a tubular calyx of sepal
s, and the entire unit may exceed a centimeter long. The fruit is a legume pod 2 or 3 centimeters long containing several beanlike seeds.
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 balsam 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 most of the northern and central coastal and inland mountain ranges and foothills. It can be found in many types of habitat, including forest, chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, and disturbed areas. This is a mostly erect perennial herb with a leafy, often hairy and glandular form. Its slender branches are lined with leaves each made of several leaflets up to 2 centimeters long. The leaves sometimes have prominent stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a compact array of up to 9 pink flowers. Each flower is elongated, the corolla borne in a tubular calyx of sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s, and the entire unit may exceed a centimeter long. The fruit is a legume pod 2 or 3 centimeters long containing several beanlike seeds.