SPECIES DESCRIPTION
LOTUS ANGUSTISSIMUS
Family and Genus:- See- LEGUMINOSAE/Sect. LOTUS
Common Names:- Slender or least birdsfoot-trefoil.
Homotypic Synonyms:- Lotus angustissimus var. linnaeanus, Lotus hispidus
subsp. angustissimus.
Meaning:- Lotus (Gr) The ancient name for various leguminous plants.
Angustissimus (L) The most narrow, narrowest.
General description:- Annual, usually sparingly branched from the base.
Stems:-
1) 10-40 cm, with slender, procumbent to suberect stems, very sparsely pilose
throughout.
Leaves:-
1) 5-foliolate, small, (5-12 mm).
2) Leaflets, elliptic-ovate, apiculate, the lower pair not much smaller than the others.
Flower:-
1) (1-)2-4, usually on a peduncle 1-3 cm.
2) Bracts, 1-3, unequal.
3) Calyx, with subequal, linear-lanceolate, teeth usually longer than the tube.
4) Corolla. c. 7 mm, yellow, sometimes with purple veins,
a) keel, with a right-angle on the lower edge and a short beak.
Fruit:-
1) Legume, 15-30 x 1-1.5 mm, linear, straight, terete.
2) Seeds, several, 0.8-1.0 mm, globose, smooth, yellowish-brown.
Key features:-
1) Legume, 15-30 x 1-1.5 mm, linear, straight, terete.
2) Seeds, more than 12.
3) Keel, with a right-angle on the lower edge.
4) Peduncles, 1- to 3-flowered, shorter or longer than the leaves.
Habitat:- Coastal habitats, seasonally damp spots in meadows, olive groves, open
dry shrubby vegetation and open woodland. 0-800(-1300) m.
Distribution:- Throughout Greece. - widespread in the Mediterranean region,
Atlantic Islands, and SW Asia to Iran. Fairly widespread across Crete, but mainly in
the west.
Flowering time:- Apr to early July.
Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis
