Common name:
Sierra lotus
Family:
Scientific name:
Acmispon decumbens
Synonym:
Acmispon nevadensis
Main flower color:
Range:
California and the Pacific Northwest, plus small parts of Idaho, and western Nevada
Height:
Up to 4 inches
Habitat:
Dry hillsides, open areas in oak and coniferous woodland, from 2,800 to 9,000 feet
Leaves:
Irregularly divided into 3, 4 or 5 leaflets, each oblong, up to 0.4 inches in length, with wavy hairs
Season:
May to September
Leaves of acmispon decumbens are divided into three to five oblong leaflets, irregularly palmate or pinnate. Both sides of the leaflets have a covering of short, wavy hairs, not dense enough to obscure the greyish-green surface. Leaflets are approximately all in the same plane. Plants form low mats, 12 inches or more across.
Flowers are borne at the end of a short stalk, less than an inch, and are subtended by a few leaf-like bracts. The light green calyx has a covering of long hairs, and is divided less than half its height into five lobes. The yellow flowers have a broad banner petal, recurved by up to 90 degrees, and two long wing petals, longer than the fused keel petals, which are often reddish at the tips. Petals are red in bud.
Flowers are borne at the end of a short stalk, less than an inch, and are subtended by a few leaf-like bracts. The light green calyx has a covering of long hairs, and is divided less than half its height into five lobes. The yellow flowers have a broad banner petal, recurved by up to 90 degrees, and two long wing petals, longer than the fused keel petals, which are often reddish at the tips. Petals are red in bud.
All Contents © Copyright The American Southwest | Comments and Questions | Contribute | Site Map