Lotus suaveolens Pers.
hairy birdsfoot trefoil
Annual to perennial, not stoloniferous; stems sparsely to moderately pilose, usually hollow, prostrate, not woody at base. Lvs moderately to densely pilose, sessile; leaflets obovate to oblong (basal pair usually ovate), acute, obtuse to cuneate at base, (3)-5-15-(20) mm long, without evident lateral veins. Peduncles > lvs, up to 50 mm long. Infl. 1-4-flowered. Calyx moderately to densely pilose; calyx teeth ± equal, linear-lanceolate, > tube. Corolla yellow or yellow with red markings, 6-8 mm long; keel obtusely angled nearer base than middle and attenuate. Pod straight or slightly curved, rounded, not winged, 6-13-(15) × 1.5-2 mm; seeds c. 0.75-1 mm diam.
N.: locally common to abundant throughout; S.: Rai Valley, Marlborough Sounds, locally common in Nelson and Westland, also collected from Irwell (Canterbury) and once in Christchurch; K.
S.W. England, W. Mediterranean, Asia Minor 1916
Waste places, thin pasture.
FL Oct-Jun.
Hairy birdsfoot trefoil is distinguished from L. angustissimus by the keel shape and shorter, broader pods (Fig. 63). This sp. has been previously known in N.Z. as L. subbiflorus and L. hispidus. However, true L. subbiflorus Lagasca is distinguished by having an incurved tip to the keel and does not occur in N.Z. L. hispidus DC. is a nom. nudum [ see, Heyn, C. C., Israel Jour. Bot. 19: 271-292 (1970)].
