Lotus pinnatus
Encyclopedia
Lotus pinnatus is a species of legume
known by the common names meadow bird's-foot trefoil and bog bird's-foot trefoil. It is native to western North America from California
into the Pacific Northwest
, its distribution extending into British Columbia
in just a few rare occurrences near Nanaimo. It grows in moist to wet habitat, such as bog
s and spring meadows. It is a hairless perennial herb lined with leaves each made up of green oval leaflets each 1 to 2.5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence
is an array of up to 10 pealike flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long. Each flower has a bright yellow banner, or upper petal, and white lower petals. The fruit is a slender, elongated legume pod up to 5 centimeters long but just a few millimeters long.
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 names meadow bird's-foot trefoil and bog bird's-foot trefoil. It is native to western North America from 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...
into the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, its distribution extending into British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in just a few rare occurrences near Nanaimo. It grows in moist to wet habitat, such as bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s and spring meadows. It is a hairless perennial herb lined with leaves each made up of green oval leaflets each 1 to 2.5 centimeters in length. 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 an array of up to 10 pealike flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long. Each flower has a bright yellow banner, or upper petal, and white lower petals. The fruit is a slender, elongated legume pod up to 5 centimeters long but just a few millimeters long.