Lotus strigosus var. hirtellus (Greene) Ottley
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Authority
Isely, Duane. 1981. Leguminosae of the United States. III. Subfamily Papilionoideae: tribes Sophoreae, Podalyrieae, Loteae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25 (3): 1-264.
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Family
Fabaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Distribution and Ecology - Range as given in key. Desert washes to ponderosa pine forest at middle elevations (400-) 1500-6000 ft. March-June.
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Discussion
Lotus hirtellus Greene (1890); Hosackia strigosa var hirtella (Greene) Hall (1912); Anisolotus hirtellus (Greene) Heller (1912); L. strigosus var hirtellus (Greene) Ottley (1923). The range of Lotus strigosus var hirtellus lies approximately across the melding zone of vars tomentellus and strigosus. With the exserted inflorescence of var strigosus, it is variable in leaflet proportions, pubescence, flower size, and pod length. The forms with broad leaflets and longer, 2-3 cm, pods seem restricted to San Diego and Riverside cos. Those with narrower leaflets and, on the average, shorter, 1.5-2.5 cm, pods occur throughout the range of the variety. While the reality of Lotus strigosus var hirtellus as a coherent entity may be questionable, I believe it more distinct than implied by Ottley’s (1923) list of intermediates, herein mostly referred to var strigosus.