Lotus procumbens
Encyclopedia
Lotus procumbens is a species of legume
known by the common name silky deerweed. It is endemic to California
, where it is known from many habitat types in several regions from the Central Valley to the Mojave Desert
to the Peninsular Ranges
. It is a tough, hairy perennial herb spreading as a clumpy mat or sometimes growing erect to approach a meter in height. Its slender branches are lined with small leaves each made up usually three leaflets. The inflorescence
is generally 1 to 3 solid or red-veined yellow flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The fruit is a legume pod just over a centimeter long containing 2 or 3 beanlike seeds.
Faboideae
Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....
known by the common name silky deerweed. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known from many habitat types in several regions from the Central Valley to the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
to the Peninsular Ranges
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
. It is a tough, hairy perennial herb spreading as a clumpy mat or sometimes growing erect to approach a meter in height. Its slender branches are lined with small leaves each made up usually three leaflets. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is generally 1 to 3 solid or red-veined yellow flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The fruit is a legume pod just over a centimeter long containing 2 or 3 beanlike seeds.