Family |
Fabaceae
Lotus peregrinus
L.
Lotus peregrinus L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 774 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 309–310, Pl. CXVIII, 1; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Annual with spreading stems, 10–40 cm long, covered with appressed, somewhat silky hairs.
Leaves: Short-stalked, with blunt, obovate-oblong leaflets narrowing at the base; the lower, stipule-like leaflets are ovate.
Inflorescence & flowers: Stalks shorter than or slightly longer than the leaves bear 1–3 flowers and thicken later. The calyx has two upper and three lower teeth, the lowest linear and distinctly longer. The corolla is 12–15 mm long, about twice the calyx, with a narrow keel.
Fruit: Straight, cylindrical, blunt pods with a small terminal point, about six times the calyx length.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering March–April.
Habitat & elevation: Slightly damp places and sand.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Saida, Beirut, Nahr Beirut, Nahr el Kelb, Jounie, Tripoli, Jamhour, Chouite, below Beit Mery, Baabda, Jabal Terbol, Sarada, Ibl es Saki, Ban, Kfertay and Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Cassius and Hamme.
Native range: Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, Greece, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Palestine, Sicilia, Türkiye.