FABACEAE

LEGUME FAMILY

Annual to tree
Leaves generally compound, alternate, stipuled; leaflets generally entire
Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, umbel or head; flowers sometime 1–2 in axils
Flowers generally bisexual, generally bilateral; hypanthium generally flat or cup-like; sepals generally 5, fused; petals generally 5, free, or the 2 lower ± fused; stamens 1–many, often 10 with 9 filaments at least partly fused, 1 (uppermost) free; pistil 1, ovary superior, generally 1-chambered, ovules 1–many, style, stigma 1
Fruit: legume, sometimes including a stalk-like base above receptacle, dehiscent, or indehiscent and breaking into 1-seeded segments, or indehiscent, 1-seeded, and achene-like
Seeds 1–several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth
Genera in family: ± 650 genera, 18,000 species: worldwide; with grasses, requisite in agriculture and most natural ecosystems. Many cultivated, most importantly Arachis , peanut; Glycine , soybean; Phaseolus , beans; Medicago ; Trifolium ; and many orns
Reference: [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae]
Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.

LOTUS

Duane Isely

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, unarmed
Leaves generally odd-1-pinnate (sometimes ± palmately compound, rarely some or most simple); stipules conspicuous or not; leaflets 3–many, often irregularly arranged
Inflorescence: umbel or 1–2-flowered, axillary, generally peduncled, often bracted
Flower: corolla generally yellow (sometimes white or pink), fading darker; 9 filaments fused, 1 free
Fruit dehiscent or not, exserted from calyx or not, ovoid to oblong, ± beaked
Seeds 1–several
Etymology: (Greek: derivation unclear)
Reference: [Isely 1981 Mem New York Bot Garden 25:128–206]
Spp. generally variable; intermediates may be hybrids. Key below separates natural groups.

Native

L. purshianus Clem. & E.G. Clem. var. purshianus

Annual, generally hairy
Stem prostrate to erect, simple or openly branched, 0.5–6 dm
Leaf pinnate or ± simple; stipules gland-like; leaflets generally 3, generally 1–2 cm, lanceolate to elliptic
Inflorescence 1-flowered; peduncle bracts simple
Flower: calyx 3–6.5 mm, lobes >> tube; corolla 5–9 mm, yellow to pink, wings ± = keel
Fruit dehiscent, widely spreading or pendent, 1.5–3 cm, oblong
Seeds few
Chromosomes: 2n=14
Ecology: Coast, chaparral, mtn forests, water courses, and roadsides and other weedy areas
Elevation: 0–2400 m.
Bioregional distribution: California (except Sonoran Desert)
Distribution outside California: to Canada, c US, Mexico
Flowering time: May–Oct
Synonyms: var. glaber (Nutt.) Munz
Many races and ecological forms
Horticultural information: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; STBL and forage.