Lotus creticus
Lotus creticus
Sepik
Procumbent, adpressed-pilose perennial, canescent to sericeous. Stems stiff, 20-40 cm, bearing many short sterile leafy shoots. Leaf rachis only c. 1 mm. Leaflets thick, upper ones 5-10 mm, obovate to oblanceolate, ± apiculate; lower leaflets half as long as upper ones. Umbels 2-7-flowered, on stiff peduncles, at least 3 x subtending leaves. Bracts shorter than calyx. Flowers 12-14 mm. Calyx slightly bilabiate; teeth about equal to tube, lateral teeth shorter than the rest. Corolla golden yellow, twice as long as calyx. Keel arched from near base into a long, dark-tipped, slightly incurved beak protruding from between the wings. Legume c. 30 x 2 mm, terete, straight. Fl. 3-4. Fixed coastal dunes.
Mediterranean area , Azores. Medit. element.
