Difference between revisions of "Lotus (genus)"

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''See [[Lotus]] for other uses, including several other plant taxa bearing this name.''
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{{SPlantbox
{{Taxobox
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|familia=Fabaceae
| color = lightgreen
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|genus=Lotus
| name = ''Lotus''
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|habit=herbaceous
| image = Lotus_uliginosus.jpg
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|Min ht metric=cm
| image_width = 290px
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|Temp Metric=°F
| image_caption = ''Lotus uliginosus''- flowers
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|image=Lotus formosissima 2.jpg
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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|image_width=240
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
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|image_caption=Lotus formosissimus
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
 
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
 
| familia = [[Fabaceae]]
 
| subfamilia = [[Faboideae]]
 
| tribus = [[Loteae]]
 
| genus = '''''Lotus'''''
 
| subdivision_ranks = Species
 
| subdivision =
 
Between 70-150 species; see text
 
 
}}
 
}}
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[[Image:Lotuscorniculatus.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pasture]] with ''[[Lotus corniculatus]]'' (Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Birdsfoot deervetch)]]'''''Lotus''''' is a [[genus]] that includes '''bird's-foot trefoils''' and '''deervetches''' and contains many dozens of [[species]] distributed world-wide.  Depending on the [[taxonomic]] authority, roughly between 70 and 150 are accepted. ''Lotus'' is a genus of [[legume]] and its members are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from coastal environments to high altitudes. Most species have [[leaf|leaves]] with five [[leaflet]]s; two of these are at the extreme base of the leaf, with the other three at the tip of a naked midrib.  This gives the appearance of a pair of large [[stipule]]s below a "[[Petiole (botany)|petiole]]" bearing a trefoil of three leaflets – in fact the true stipules are minute, soon falling or withering.  Some species have pinnate leaves with up to 15 leaflets. The [[flower]]s are in clusters of 3-10 together at the apex of a stem with some basal leafy [[bract]]s; they are [[pea]]-flower shaped, usually vivid yellow, but occasionally orange or red.  The seeds develop in three or four straight, strongly diverging pods, which together make a shape reminiscent of the diverging toes of a small bird, leading to the common name "bird's-foot".
  
The genus '''''Lotus''''' ('''Bird's-foot Trefoil''', '''Trefoil''' or '''Deervetch''') contains approximately 150 species distributed world-wide. ''Lotus'' is a genus of [[legume]] and its members are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from coastal environments to high altitudes. Most species have [[leaf|leaves]] with three leaflets, but also two large [[stipule]]s at the base roughly equal in size to the leaflets, thus appearing to have ''five'' leaflets; some species have pinnate leaves with up to 15 leaflets. The [[flower]]s are in clusters of 3-10 together at the apex of a stem with some basal leafy [[bract]]s, [[pea]]-flower shaped, vivid yellow or orange, occasionally red.
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Some species, such as ''[[Lotus berthelotii|L. berthelotii]]'' from the [[Canary Islands]], are grown as ornamental plants. ''[[Lotus corniculatus|L. corniculatus]]'' is an [[invasive species]] in some regions of [[North America]] and [[Australia]].
  
''Lotus'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species - see [[list of Lepidoptera which feed on birds-foot trefoils]].
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{{Inc|
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Lotus (an old Greek name). Leguminosae. Herbs and subshrubs, grown for the yellow, purple, rose- colored or white flowers.
  
;Species
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Plants glabrous, silky or hirsute: lvs. with 3-5 lfts. crowded at the apex of the petiole and commonly 2 joined to the st. and resembling stipules: fls. mostly pea- shaped, often in axillary few-fld. umbels, rarely solitary; standard broad, contracted at base; wings obovate; keel incurved or inflexed, beaked; calyx-lobes longer than the tube; stamens 9 and 1, connate but free from the petals: pod oblong or linear.—Species 80-100, largely in the Medit. region, but also in S. Afr., Temp. Asia and Austral. By some botanists, the genus Hosackia (which see) has been united with Lotus, but it differs in having usually morel lfts., short calyx-teeth, obtuse keel. One lotus (L. corniculatus) has become established in N. Amer. Lotus nigricans of cult, is Kennedya, nigricans.
*''[[Lotus aboriginus]]'' - Rosy Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus alamosanus]]'' - Sonoran Bird's-foot Trefoil
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Lotus meant several things to the ancients: (1) the Greek lotus, a leguminous plant on which horses fed. This was probably what we call to-day Lotus cor- niculalus, the common bird's-foot trefoil of temperate regions. (2) The Cyrenean lotus, an African shrub, the fruit of which was eaten by certain North African tribes who were called lotus-eaters. The fruit was said to be honey-sweet, the size of an olive and in taste like a date. This was probably Zizyphus Lotus, a prickly shrub whose fruit is, however, considered inferior to that of the common jujube, Zizyphus saliva. Other conjectures have been: Celtis australis, a tree which has a small, sweet berry; Nitraria tridentata, a thorny desert shrub whose succulent fruit has a stimulating quality, and Rhanmus Lotus, another North African plant. European lotus is a name for Diospyros Lotus, a kind of date plum which is cultivated in southern Europe, but the fruit is hardly edible. (3) The Egyptian lotus or sacred lily of the Nile. This is Nymphsea Lotus, which, like the Hindu lotus, has rose-colored as well as white flowers. American cultivators at the present time almost universally consider that the true Egyptian lotus is Nelumbium speciosum, now called Nelumbo, but Nelumbium speciosum is not a native of Egypt. (4) The Hindu and Chinese lotus, also called the sacred or Pythagorean bean. This is Nelumbo indica, better known us Nelumbium speciosum. The name lotus was doubtless used for other water-lilies, particularly the blue-flowered Nymphsea caerulea.
*''[[Lotus angustissimus]]'' - Slender Bird's-foot Trefoil
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}}
*''[[Lotus argophyllus]]'' - Silver Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus argyraeus]]'' - Canyon Bird's-foot Trefoil
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==Cultivation==
*''[[Lotus benthamii]]'' - Bentham's Deervetch
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<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
*''[[Lotus berthelotii]]'' - Canary Islands Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus corniculatus]]'' - Common Bird's-foot Trefoil
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===Propagation===
*''[[Lotus crassifolius]]'' - Big Deervetch
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<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
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===Pests and diseases===
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<!--- Type pest/disease info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
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==Species==
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Selected species==
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*''[[Lotus aboriginus]]'' &ndash; [[Rosy Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus aduncus]]'' [[Image:Lotus aduncus.JPG|thumb|right|''[[Lotus aduncus]]'']]
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*''[[Lotus alamosanus]]'' &ndash; [[Sonora Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus alpinus]]'' [[Image:Lotus alpinus01.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Lotus alpinus]]'']]
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*''[[Lotus angustissimus]]'' &ndash; [[Slender Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus argophyllus]]'' &ndash; [[Silver Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus argyraeus]]'' &ndash; [[Canyon Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus benthamii]]'' &ndash; [[Bentham's Deervetch]]
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*''[[Lotus berthelotii]]'' &ndash; Canary Islands Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus cedrosensis]]''
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*''[[Lotus corniculatus]]'' &ndash; Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Bird's-foot Deervetch [[File:Lotus corniculatus- is it W IMG 6819.jpg|thumb|''[[Lotus corniculatus]]'' ]]
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*''[[Lotus crassifolius]]'' &ndash; Big Deervetch, Broad-leaved Bird's-foot Trefoil
 
*''[[Lotus creticus]]''
 
*''[[Lotus creticus]]''
*''[[Lotus dendroideus]]'' - Island Deervetch
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*''[[Lotus dendroideus]]'' &ndash; [[Island Deervetch]]
*''[[Lotus denticulatus]]'' - Riverbar Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus denticulatus]]'' &ndash; [[Riverbar Bird's-foot Trefoil]], [[Meadow Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus formosissimus]]'' - Seaside Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus formosissimus]]'' &ndash; [[Seaside Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus glaber]]'' - Narrow-leaf Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus glaber]]'' &ndash; Narrow-leaved Bird's-foot Trefoil, Slender Trefoil, Creeping Trefoil, Prostrate Trefoil; formerly ''L. tenuis''
*''[[Lotus grandiflorus]]'' - Chaparral Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus grandiflorus]]'' &ndash; [[Chaparral Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus greenei]]'' - Greene's Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus greenei]]'' &ndash; [[Greene's Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus hamatus]]'' - San Diego Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus hamatus]]'' &ndash; [[San Diego Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus haydonii]]'' - Rock Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus haydonii]]'' &ndash; [[Rock Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus heermannii]]'' - Heermann's Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus heermannii]]'' &ndash; [[Heermann's Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus humistratus]]'' - Foothill Deervetch
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*''[[Lotus humistratus]]'' &ndash; [[Foothill Deervetch]]
*''[[Lotus incanus]]'' - Woolly Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus incanus]]'' &ndash; [[Woolly Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus intricatus]]'' - Arid Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus intricatus]]'' &ndash; [[Arid Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
 
*''[[Lotus jacobaeus]]''
 
*''[[Lotus jacobaeus]]''
 
*''[[Lotus japonicus]]''
 
*''[[Lotus japonicus]]''
*''[[Lotus junceus]]'' - Rush Deervetch
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*''[[Lotus junceus]]'' &ndash; [[Rush Deervetch]]
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*''[[Lotus maculatus]]'' [[Image:Lotus maculatus.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Lotus maculatus]]'']]
 
*''[[Lotus maritimus]]''
 
*''[[Lotus maritimus]]''
*''[[Lotus mearnsii]]'' - Mearns' Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus mearnsii]]'' &ndash; [[Mearns' Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus micranthus]]'' - Desert Deervetch
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*''[[Lotus micranthus]]'' &ndash; [[Desert Deervetch]]
*''[[Lotus nevadensis]]'' - Nevada Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus mollis]]''
*''[[Lotus nuttallianus]]'' - Wire Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus nevadensis]]'' &ndash; [[Nevada Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus oblongifolius]]'' - Streambank Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus nuttallianus]]'' &ndash; [[Wire Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus oblongifolius]]'' &ndash; [[Streambank Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
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*''[[Lotus ononopsis]]''
 
*''[[Lotus ornithopoides]]''
 
*''[[Lotus ornithopoides]]''
 
*''[[Lotus palustris]]''
 
*''[[Lotus palustris]]''
*''[[Lotus parviflorus]]'' - Smallflower Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus parviflorus]]'' &ndash; [[Smallflower Bird's-foot Trefoil]], [[Smallflower Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus pedunculatus]]'' - Big Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus pinnatus]]'' &ndash; [[Meadow Bird's-foot Trefoil]], [[Bog Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus pinnatus]]'' - Meadow Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus plebeius]]'' &ndash; [[New Mexico Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus plebeius]]'' - New Mexico Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus procumbens]]'' &ndash; [[Silky Deerweed]]
*''[[Lotus procumbens]]'' - Silky Deerweed
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*''[[Lotus purshianus]]'' &ndash; [[Spanish Clover]]
*''[[Lotus rigidus]]'' - ([[Desert rock pea]]), Shrubby Deervetch
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*''[[Lotus rigidus]]'' &ndash; Desert Rock Pea, Shrubby Deervetch
*''[[Lotus rubriflorus]]'' - Redflower Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus rubriflorus]]'' &ndash; [[Redflower Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus salsuginosus]]'' - Coastal Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus salsuginosus]]'' &ndash; [[Coastal Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus scoparius]]'' - Common Deerweed
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*''[[Lotus scoparius]]'' &ndash; Common Deerweed, Common Deervetch, California Broom, Western Bird's-foot Trefoil
 
*''[[Lotus sessilifolius]]''
 
*''[[Lotus sessilifolius]]''
*''[[Lotus stipularis]]'' - Balsam Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus stipularis]]'' &ndash; [[Balsam Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus strigosus]]'' - Strigose Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus strigosus]]'' &ndash; [[Strigose Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus suaveolens]]'' - Hairy Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus subbiflorus]]'' &ndash; [[Hairy Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus subbiflorus]]'' - Hairy Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus tetragonolobus]]'' &ndash; [[Winged Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus tenuis]]'' - Narrowleaf Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus unifoliolatus]]'' &ndash; [[American Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus tetragonolobus]]'' - Winged Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus pedunculatus]]'' &ndash; Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, Marsh Bird's-foot Trefoil, Large Bird's-foot Trefoil, Big Trefoil; formerly ''L. uliginosus''.
*''[[Lotus unifoliolatus]]'' - American Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus utahensis]]'' &ndash; [[Utah Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus uliginosus]]'' - Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus wrangelianus]]'' &ndash; [[Chilean Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus utahensis]]'' - Utah Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus wrightii]]'' &ndash; [[Wright's Deervetch]]
*''[[Lotus wrangelianus]]'' - Chilean Bird's-foot Trefoil
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*''[[Lotus yollabolliensis]]'' &ndash; [[Yolla Bolly Bird's-foot Trefoil]]
*''[[Lotus wri
 
ghtii]]'' - Wright's Deervetch
 
*''[[Lotus yollabolliensis]]'' - Yolla Bolly Bird's-foot Trefoil
 
  
===Uses===
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==Gallery==
[[Image:Lotuscorniculatus.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Pasture]] with ''Lotus corniculatus'']]
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{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery  -->
Several species are culvivated for [[forage]], including ''L. corniculatus'', ''L. glaber'' and ''L. uliginosus''. Scentific research for crop improvement and understanding the general biology of the genus is focused on ''L. japonicus'' which is currently the subject of a full genome sequencing project, and is considered a [[model organism]].
 
  
They can produce toxic [[cyanide|cyanogenic glycoside]]s which can be potentially toxic to [[livestock]], but also produce [[tannin]]s, which are a beneficial anti-[[bloat]]ing compound.
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<gallery>
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Image:Upload.png| photo 1
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Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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Image:Upload.png| photo 3
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</gallery>
  
Some species, such as ''L. berthelotii'' from the [[Canary Islands]], are grown as ornamental plants. ''L. corniculatus'' is an [[invasive species]] in some regions of [[North America]] and [[Australia]].
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==References==
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*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
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<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
== External links ==  
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==External links==
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Lotus.html Lotus species names]
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*{{wplink}}
  
[[Category:Faboideae]]
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{{stub}}
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__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 00:16, 14 December 2009


Lotus formosissimus


Plant Characteristics
Habit   herbaceous
Cultivation
Scientific Names

Fabaceae >

Lotus >


Pasture with Lotus corniculatus (Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, Birdsfoot deervetch)

Lotus is a genus that includes bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches and contains many dozens of species distributed world-wide. Depending on the taxonomic authority, roughly between 70 and 150 are accepted. Lotus is a genus of legume and its members are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from coastal environments to high altitudes. Most species have leaves with five leaflets; two of these are at the extreme base of the leaf, with the other three at the tip of a naked midrib. This gives the appearance of a pair of large stipules below a "petiole" bearing a trefoil of three leaflets – in fact the true stipules are minute, soon falling or withering. Some species have pinnate leaves with up to 15 leaflets. The flowers are in clusters of 3-10 together at the apex of a stem with some basal leafy bracts; they are pea-flower shaped, usually vivid yellow, but occasionally orange or red. The seeds develop in three or four straight, strongly diverging pods, which together make a shape reminiscent of the diverging toes of a small bird, leading to the common name "bird's-foot".

Some species, such as L. berthelotii from the Canary Islands, are grown as ornamental plants. L. corniculatus is an invasive species in some regions of North America and Australia.


Read about Lotus (genus) in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Lotus (an old Greek name). Leguminosae. Herbs and subshrubs, grown for the yellow, purple, rose- colored or white flowers.

Plants glabrous, silky or hirsute: lvs. with 3-5 lfts. crowded at the apex of the petiole and commonly 2 joined to the st. and resembling stipules: fls. mostly pea- shaped, often in axillary few-fld. umbels, rarely solitary; standard broad, contracted at base; wings obovate; keel incurved or inflexed, beaked; calyx-lobes longer than the tube; stamens 9 and 1, connate but free from the petals: pod oblong or linear.—Species 80-100, largely in the Medit. region, but also in S. Afr., Temp. Asia and Austral. By some botanists, the genus Hosackia (which see) has been united with Lotus, but it differs in having usually morel lfts., short calyx-teeth, obtuse keel. One lotus (L. corniculatus) has become established in N. Amer. Lotus nigricans of cult, is Kennedya, nigricans.

Lotus meant several things to the ancients: (1) the Greek lotus, a leguminous plant on which horses fed. This was probably what we call to-day Lotus cor- niculalus, the common bird's-foot trefoil of temperate regions. (2) The Cyrenean lotus, an African shrub, the fruit of which was eaten by certain North African tribes who were called lotus-eaters. The fruit was said to be honey-sweet, the size of an olive and in taste like a date. This was probably Zizyphus Lotus, a prickly shrub whose fruit is, however, considered inferior to that of the common jujube, Zizyphus saliva. Other conjectures have been: Celtis australis, a tree which has a small, sweet berry; Nitraria tridentata, a thorny desert shrub whose succulent fruit has a stimulating quality, and Rhanmus Lotus, another North African plant. European lotus is a name for Diospyros Lotus, a kind of date plum which is cultivated in southern Europe, but the fruit is hardly edible. (3) The Egyptian lotus or sacred lily of the Nile. This is Nymphsea Lotus, which, like the Hindu lotus, has rose-colored as well as white flowers. American cultivators at the present time almost universally consider that the true Egyptian lotus is Nelumbium speciosum, now called Nelumbo, but Nelumbium speciosum is not a native of Egypt. (4) The Hindu and Chinese lotus, also called the sacred or Pythagorean bean. This is Nelumbo indica, better known us Nelumbium speciosum. The name lotus was doubtless used for other water-lilies, particularly the blue-flowered Nymphsea caerulea.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Cultivation

Propagation

Pests and diseases

Species

Selected species==

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

References

External links