PEA FAMILY I43 



Stipules gland-like; pods incurved, not opening. 



Stems prostrate, hairy; leaflets obovate 6. H. decumbens. 



Stems nearly erect; leaflets oblong 7. H. glabra. 



1. H. americana Piper. Spanish Clover. Dakota Vetch. 

 Stem erect, ^ to 2 ft. high, 

 leafy and hairy throughout. 

 Leaflets 1 to 3, ovate or oblong, 

 ]4 to 1 in. long. Flowers tk in. 

 long, salmon-colored; the pe- 

 duncle exceeding the leaves. 

 Pod % to 1 in. long; seeds 

 oblong, smooth. (Lotus ameri- 

 canus Bisch.) 



The Spanish Clover is an abundant species throughout the 

 arid foothill belt, where it is an important forage plant for 

 late summer feed. It rarely occurs above 5000 ft. alt., but is 

 very common on the floor of Yosemite Valley, where it grows 

 in a small form and exhibits a wide range of variation, espe- 

 cially as to the amount of pubescence of the herbage. 



2. H. parvifiora Benth. Stems 3 to 8 in. long, prostrate 

 or with ascending branches. Leaflets 3 to 5, nearly glabrous, 

 obovate to oblong, obtuse, less than j4 in. long. Flowers pale 

 pink, turning red, about Y% in. long, on bracted peduncles 

 shorter than the leaves. Pod glabrous, the edges thickened; 

 seeds roundish, smooth. (Lotus micranthus Benth.) — Moist 

 soil at the foot of Yosemite Falls and elsewhere at moderate 

 altitudes; best distinguished by the green herbage and small 

 flowers. 



3. H. strigosa var. hirtella Hall. Stems 4 to 12 in. long, 

 nearly prostrate, with short spreading hairs. Leaflets 4 to 7, 

 very hairy, oblong, obtuse, % to l / 2 in. long. Flowers yellow, 

 about y% in. long; the peduncles either shorter or longer than 

 the leaves, each usually with a bract at summit. Pod hairy, 

 with thin edges; seeds square, rough, notched on one side. 

 (Lotus hirtellus Greene.) 



This variety is found in the lower part of the pine belt from 

 near the lower end of Yosemite Valley to ridges above Hetch 

 Hetchy. In true H. strigosa the leaflets are usually acute and 

 the hairs closely appressed to the stems and leaves, while in 

 our variety the leaflets are obtuse and the hairs spreading. 

 This form occurs wherever the conditions are semi-arid, as 

 along the Sierra Nevada foothills and near the southern 

 deserts. 



4. H. crassifdlia Benth. Stems stout, 2 to 3 ft. high, the 



