328 LEGUMINOSAE 



27. L. scoparius Ottloy. Dkkii AVked. Stems diffuse or erect, often bushy, 

 l^ to 5 feet hip:h, the branches lonp:-vir}2:ate, rush-like and prreenisli; herbage nearly 

 glabrous, the young parts and calyx often silky; leaves V/2 to 6 (or 11) lines long; 

 stipular ridges prominent; leaflets 3 (4 or 5), oblong or oblanceolate (or oval), 

 acute, 2 to 5 lines long; umbels crowded on the upper part of the branches or some- 

 times scattered, sessile or nearly so, 1 to 5-flowered; flowers 3V2 to •'^Vij lines long; 

 pods much surpassing the calyx, 1 or 2-seeded, the body ly^ to 3 lines long, the 

 beak ^,4 fo ^^ long or longer. 



Rocky ridges and clay slopes in the hills, 10 to 2500 feet : Sierra Nevada foot- 

 hills from Amador Co. to Kern Co.; Coast Ranges from Humboldt Co. to San Luis 

 Obispo Co.; south to coastal Southern California. Far south into Lower Cali- 

 fornia. Feb.-Oct. 



Field note. — Lotus scoparius is an abundant species throughout its range, especially in 

 coastal Southern California where it is often one of the dominant elements in the shrubby and 

 bushy cover of the lower unforestcd hills and mesas. Its economic uses are several. The long 

 reed-like stems are used as thatch for cabins by the native tribesmen dwelling about Warner 

 Pass in San Diego Co. The stems are laid on in bundles and a hut so covered is regarded as 

 rainproof. It is also valued as a browse for cattle, but has a much wider use as a bee plant, 

 since it is the fourth most important native source of nectar for the honey bee in the south 

 coastal counties, the others being Salvia apiana and mellifcra and Eriogonum fasciculatum. Its 

 prolonged period of bloom, from June to September, is important in this regard. The leaves 

 are often largely or completely deciduous after flowering in May or June ; the pods are matured 

 on the naked stems; and the plant passes the hot period of tlie dry season as a switch plant. 

 With the early fall rains the stems again become foliated. Thus during the latter part of the 

 rainless season the slender virgate branches dotted with stipular glands present a characteristic 

 aspect, whence the folk name "Wild Broom". "Deer Clover" alludes to browsing by deer, while 

 "Wild Alfalfa" is a name used by stockmen who appreciate its forage value. 



Locs.— Sierra Nevada: West Point bridge, Amador Co. (Univ. Cal. Publ. Bot, 10:228); 

 Parrots Ferry, Stanislaus River, A. L. Grant 822; Gwin Mine, Calaveras Co., Jepson; Friant 

 (rocky hills e. of), Fresno Co., Jepson; Springville, Tulare Co., Purpus; Caliente, Kern Co., 

 Heller 7624. Coast Eanges: South Fork Eel River, s. of Garberville, Tracy 5048; Buckeye Creek, 

 Hershey, Yolo Co., Jepson 8959; Healdsburg, Alice King; Weldon Canon, Vaca Mts., Jepson 

 13,804 ; Howell Mt., Napa Range, Jepson 13,805 ; Sonoma Canon, Kenwood, Jepson 10,007 ; 

 Inverness, Marin Co., Jepson ; Moraga Ridge, Oakland Hills, Jepson 10,392 ; Salada, San Mateo 

 Co., Newlon 249; Carmel, Ottley 1262; Santa Lucia Creek, Santa Lucia Mts., Jepson 4750; 

 Templeton, San Luis Obispo Co., Davy 7639. Intermontane and coastal S. Cal.: Santa Barbara; 

 Ojai Valley, Ventura Co., Olive Thacher 19; Santa Monica, Berg; Rubio Canon, San Gabriel 

 Mts., Peirson 98; Cajon Canon, N. C. Wilson; San Bernardino, Parish; Whitewater, San Gor- 

 gonio Pass, Jepson 11,627; Newport, Orange Co., Alice King; Palomar Mt., Jepson 1558; Col- 

 lins Valley, ne. San Diego Co., Jepson; Sentenac Valley, e. San Diego Co., Jepson; Witch Creek, 

 San Diego Co., Alderson; Coronado, W. S. Cooper 308. 



Var. veatchii Ottley. Decumbent, more pubescent than the species ; leaflets oblanceolate, 

 obtuse ; umbels 5 to 8-flowered, nearly sessile ; flowers 5 to 6 lines long ; calyx-teeth subulate- 

 triangular; pods 2-seeded. — San Miguel Isl. Also in Lower California. 



Var. dendroideus Ottley. Erect, more Avoody and leafy than the species, 4 to 7 feet high ; 

 peduncles short (2i^ to 3 lines long) ; umbels 7 to 12-flowered; flowers 4^/^ to 6 lines long; pods 

 2 or 3-seeded, longer than in the species. — Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and Santa Catalina Isls. 

 Jan.-Aug. 



Var. traskiae Ottley. Erect; leaflets oblanceolate, obtuse; umbels 3-flowered, pedunculate, 

 with or without a 1-foliolate bract ; calyx-teeth short, subulate-triangular ; claws conspicuously 

 exserted. — Santa Catalina Isl. (Dav. & Mox. Fl. S. Cal. 199) ; San Clemente Isl. 



Var. brevialatus Ottley. Flowers 4 to 5 lines long ; banner short, keel extending noticeably 

 beyond the upward-curving wings. — Southern California, in the cismontane and intermontane 

 region: Little Tujunga Wash, San Gabriel Mts., Ottley 589; San Bernardino, Parish; Martinez 

 Canon, Santa Rosa Mts., Clary 1193; Box Caiion near Mason VaUey, e. San Diego Co., Jepson 

 8671. 



Refs. — Lotus scoparius Ottley, Univ. Cal. Publ. Bot. 10:227 (1923); Jepson, Man. 554, 

 fig. 545 (1925). Eosacl-ia scoparia Nutt. ; T. & G. Fl. 1:325 (1838), type loc. Santa Barl)ara, 

 Nuttall. Syrmatium glabrum Vogel, Linnaea 10:591 (1836), type from Cal.; not L. glaber Mill. 

 (1768). HosacJcia glabra Torr. Phanerogamia of Pac. Coast, Wilkes Exped. 274 (1874). L. 

 glaber Greene, Pitt. 2:148 (1890); Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 304 (1901), ed. 2, 232 (1911). 

 Anisolotus glaber Armstrong & Thornber, Field Book Western Wild Fls. 244 (1915). HosacJcia 

 crassifolia Nutt. I.e., type loc. Santa Barbara, Nuttall; not Bentham (1837). H. scoparia var. 



