Family |
Fabaceae
Lotus alpinus
(Ser.) Schleich. ex Ramond
Lotus alpinus (Ser.) Schleich. ex Ramond
First published in Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. 13: 275 (1825).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 307; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial treated by Mouterde within L. corniculatus, whose ascending stems reach 20–40 cm; the mountain variety is more densely hairy.
Leaves: Almost stalkless, with leaflets often smaller than in typical L. corniculatus.
Inflorescence & flowers: In Mouterde’s encompassing description, stalks bear 2–5 flowers with a rounded standard, strongly curved wings and a sharply bent, pointed keel. In var. alpinus, calyx teeth may be shorter and the yellow corollas are often tinged brick-red.
Fruit: Linear, little-flattened pods, 2.5–3 cm long, in the encompassing Mouterde account.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: April–August or later.
Habitat & elevation: Mountains; Mouterde identifies this variety as the spontaneous mountain form in the region, without giving a numerical elevation range.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Sofar, Togra Pass, Jabal Barouk, Kfar Selouane, Jabal Fughry, Dahr el Baidar, Jabal Kneisse, Zahle Pass, Jabal Mneitri, the Cedars, Jourd Hadeth, Jourd Hasroun, Jourd Tannourine, Ain Dahab, Ain el Qarn, Dimane–Yammoune, Sannine, Cedars Pass and Mount Hermon.
Syrian distribution: Birket Foukhté, Bloudane and Qalaat Jendel.
Recorded locations: Sannine.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, France, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon-Syria, Morocco, NW. Balkan Pen., Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde treats this plant as L. corniculatus var. alpinus, together with var. brachyodon. Kew accepts L. alpinus and lists L. corniculatus var. alpinus Ser. and var. brachyodon Boiss. as synonyms. The description distinguishes the variety’s stated characters from the broader species account. Kew marks the German record as erroneous.