Family |
Fabaceae
Lotus rectus
L.
Lotus rectus L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 775 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 303–304, Pl. CXV, 6; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Subshrub or shrub with erect, branched stems, 30–100 cm tall, and appressed hairs on stems and leaves.
Leaves: Stalked, with leaflets glaucous beneath. The lower, stipule-like leaflets are ovate; the larger ones are obovate-triangular, reaching about 2 cm long and 1 cm wide.
Inflorescence & flowers: Stalks often twice as long as the leaves bear heads of numerous small, very pale-pink flowers, at most 5 mm long. The bristly calyx has awl-shaped teeth about twice as long as its tube; the standard scarcely exceeds the wings and keel.
Fruit: Straight, cylindrical, strongly keeled pods, blackish and becoming glossy, more than 1 cm long.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering April–June.
Habitat & elevation: Degraded woodland and scrub, especially the wetter places.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Saida, Beirut, Antelias, Nahr el Kelb, Tripoli, Abey, Broummana, Araya, Bikfaya, Chtaura, Qabb Elias, Zahle and Bqaatouta.
Syrian distribution: Doummar and Raboue.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.
Introduced into: Victoria.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde treats this species as Dorycnium rectum (L.) Ser., a synonym accepted by Kew under Lotus rectus.