Lotus oblongifolius
| Lotus oblongifolius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Loteae |
| Genus: | Lotus |
| Species: | L. oblongifolius |
| Binomial name | |
| Lotus oblongifolius (Benth.) Greene | |
Lotus oblongifolius is a species of legume known by the common name streambank bird's-foot trefoil. It is native to western North America from Oregon to northern Mexico, where it grows in moist to wet areas in several types of habitat. It is a spreading or upright perennial herb lined with leaves each made up of elongated oval leaflets each up to 2.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears several yellow and white flowers between 1 and 2 centimeters long. The fruit is very elongated, reaching up to 5 centimeters in length but just a few millimeters in width.
One variety of this species, var. cupreus, the copper-flowered bird's-foot trefoil, is endemic to the Sierra Nevada slopes of Tulare County, California.[1]