Lotus, a latinization of Greek lōtos (λωτός), is a genus that includes most bird's-foot trefoils (also

known as bacon-and-eggs) and deervetches and contains many dozens of species distributed
worldwide. Depending on the taxonomic authority, roughly between 70 and 150 are accepted. Lotus is
a genus of legumes and its members are adapted to a wide range of habitats, from coastal environments
to high altitudes.

The genus Lotus is currently undergoing extensive taxonomic revision. Species native to the Americas
have been moved into other genera, such as Acmispon and Hosackia, as in the second edition of The
Jepson Manual.

The aquatic plant commonly known as the Indian or sacred lotus is Nelumbo nucifera, a species not
closely related to Lotus.

Contents
1 Description
2 Taxonomy
2.1 Species
2.2 Species placed elsewhere
3 Uses and ecology
4 References
5 External links
Description

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Most species have leaves with five leaflets; two of these are at the extreme base of the leaf, with the
other three at the tip of a naked midrib. This gives the appearance of a pair of large stipules below a
"petiole" bearing a trefoil of three leaflets – in fact, the true stipules are minute, soon falling or
withering. Some species have pinnate leaves with up to 15 leaflets. The flowers are in clusters of three
to ten together at the apex of a stem with some basal leafy bracts; they are pea-flower shaped, usually
vivid yellow, but occasionally orange or red. The seeds develop in three or four straight, strongly
diverging pods, which together make a shape reminiscent of the diverging toes of a small bird, leading
to the common name "bird's-foot".

Taxonomy
The genus Lotus is taxonomically complex. It has at times been divided into subgenera and split into
segregate genera, but with no consistent consensus. P.H. Raven in 1971 is said to have been the first to
suggest that the "New World" (American) and "Old World" (African and Eurasian) species did not
belong in the same genus. A molecular phylogenetic study in 2000 based on nuclear ribosomal ITS
sequences confirmed this view. The New World species have been divided between the genera
Hosackia s.str., Ottleya, Acmispon and Syrmatium. A 2006 study, primarily concerned with Old World
Lotus species and hence with limited sampling of the American genera, found that they were all
monophyletic. The study also supported the view that Dorycnium and Tetragonolobus are not distinct
from Lotus at the generic level. More species were added to the 2006 results in 2008, but did not alter
the broad conclusions reached before. Clades were identified within Lotus s.str., some of which were
significantly different from the sections into which the genus had been divided. However, resolution
was incomplete. The results of the analysis were presented in terms of clades and complexes.

Species

Lotus alpinus

Lotus berthelotii

Lotus corniculatus

Lotus maculatus
Lotus aegaeus (Griseb.) Boiss.
Lotus alpicola (Beck) Miniaev, Ulle & Kritzk.
Lotus alpinus Schleich. ex Ramond - alpine bird's-foot-trefoil
Lotus angustissimus L. – slender bird's-foot trefoil
Lotus anthylloides Vent.
Lotus arabicus Sol. ex L.
Lotus arenarius Brot.
Lotus argyrodes R.P.Murray
Lotus arinagensis Bramwell
Lotus armeniacus Kit Tan & Sorger
Lotus assakensis Coss. ex Brand
Lotus australis Andrews – austral trefoil
Lotus azoricus P.W.Ball
Lotus balticus Miniaev
Lotus becquetii Boutique
Lotus benoistii (Maire) Lassen
Lotus berthelotii Lowe ex Masf. – Canary Islands trefoil
Lotus bollei Christ
Lotus borbasii Ujhelyi
Lotus broussonetii Choisy ex Ser.
Lotus brunneri Webb
Lotus burttii Borsos
Lotus callis-viridis Bramwell & D.H.Davis
Lotus callunetorum (Üksip) Miniaev
Lotus campylocladus Webb & Berthel.
Lotus candidissimus A.Chev.
Lotus castellanus Boiss. & Reut.
Lotus chazaliei H.Boissieu
Lotus compactus Chrtková
Lotus conimbricensis Brot.
Lotus corniculatus L. – common bird's-foot trefoil, bird's-foot deervetch
Lotus creticus L.
Lotus cruentus Court
Lotus cytisoides L.
Lotus × davyae Druce
Lotus digii Chrtková
Lotus discolor E.Mey.
Lotus divaricatus Boiss.
Lotus dorycnium L.
Lotus drepanocarpus Durieu
Lotus dumetorum Webb ex R.P.Murray
Lotus dvinensis Miniaev & Ulle
Lotus edulis L.
Lotus elisabethae Opperman
Lotus emeroides R.P.Murray
Lotus eremiticus A.Santos
Lotus eriophthalmus Webb & Berthel.
Lotus garcinii Ser.
Lotus gebelia Vent.
Lotus germanicus (Gremli) Peruzzi
Lotus glaucus Aiton
Lotus glinoides Delile
Lotus goetzei Harms
Lotus graecus L.
Lotus halophilus Boiss. & Spruner
Lotus hebecarpus J.B.Gillett
Lotus hebranicus Hochst. ex Brand
Lotus herbaceus (Vill.) Jauzein
Lotus hirsutus L.
Lotus hirtulus Lowe ex Cout.
Lotus holosericeus Webb & Berthel.
Lotus hosackioides (Royle ex Benth.) Ali
Lotus jacobaeus L.
Lotus jolyi Batt.
Lotus komarovii Miniaev
Lotus krylovii Schischk. & Serg.
Lotus kunkelii (Esteve) Bramwell & D.H.Davis
Lotus lalambensis Schweinf.
Lotus lancerottensis Webb & Berthel.
Lotus lanuginosus Vent.
Lotus laricus Rech.f., Aellen & Esfand.
Lotus lebrunii Boutique
Lotus longisiliquosus R.Roem.
Lotus loweanus Webb & Berthel.
Lotus macranthus Lowe
Lotus macrotrichus Boiss.
Lotus maculatus Breitf.
Lotus maroccanus Ball
Lotus mascaensis Burchard
Lotus melilotoides Webb
Lotus mlanjeanus J.B.Gillett
Lotus mollis Balf.f.
Lotus namulensis Brand
Lotus norvegicus (Chrtková) Miniaev
Lotus nubicus Hochst. ex Baker
Lotus olgae Klokov
Lotus oliveirae A.Chev.
Lotus ononopsis Balf.f.
Lotus ornithopodioides L.
Lotus pacificus Kramina & D.D.Sokoloff
Lotus palustris Willd.
Lotus parviflorus Desf. – smallflower bird's-foot trefoil, smallflower trefoil
Lotus peczoricus Miniaev & Ulle
Lotus pedunculatus Cav. – greater bird's-foot trefoil, marsh bird's-foot trefoil, large bird's-foot trefoil,
big trefoil
Lotus peregrinus L.
Lotus polyphyllos E.D.Clarke
Lotus pseudocreticus Maire, Weiller & Wilczek
Lotus purpureus Webb
Lotus pusillus Medik.
Lotus pyranthus P.Pérez
Lotus quinatus (Forssk.) J.B.Gillett
Lotus racemosus Sessé & Moc.
Lotus ramulosus M.E.Jones
Lotus rechingeri Chrtková
Lotus rectus L.
Lotus robsonii E.S.Martins & D.D.Sokoloff
Lotus ruprechtii Miniaev
Lotus sativus (Hyl.) Büscher & G.H.Loos
Lotus schoelleri Schweinf.
Lotus sergievskiae Kamelin & Kovalevsk.
Lotus sessilifolius DC.
Lotus simoneae Maire, Weiller & Wilczek
Lotus spartioides Webb & Berthel.
Lotus spectabilis Choisy ex Ser.
Lotus stepposus Kramina
Lotus strictus Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Lotus subbiflorus Lag. – hairy bird's-foot trefoil
Lotus subdigitatus Boutique
Lotus taitungensis S.S.Ying
Lotus tauricus Juz.
Lotus tenellus (Lowe) Sandral, A.Santos & D.D.Sokoloff (including Lotus leptophyllus (Lowe)
K.Larsen)
Lotus tenuis Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd. – narrowleaf trefoil, slender trefoil, creeping trefoil, or prostrate
trefoil
Lotus tetraphyllus L.
Lotus tibesticus Maire
Lotus torulosus (Chiov.) Fiori
Lotus × ucrainicus Klokov
Lotus uliginosus Schkuhr
Lotus weilleri Maire
Lotus wildii J.B.Gillett
Lotus zhegulensis Klokov
Species placed elsewhere
Lotus aboriginus = Hosackia rosea
Lotus argophyllus = Acmispon argophyllus
Lotus argyraeus = Acmispon argyraeus
Lotus benthamii = Syrmatium cytisoides
Lotus crassifolius = Hosackia crassifolia
Lotus dendroideus = Syrmatium veatchii
Lotus denticulatus = Acmispon denticulatus
Lotus grandiflorus = Acmispon grandiflorus
Lotus hamatus = Syrmatium micranthum
Lotus haydonii = Syrmatium haydonii
Lotus heermannii = Acmispon heermannii
Lotus humistratus = Acmispon brachycarpus
Lotus incanus = Hosackia incana
Lotus junceus = Syrmatium junceum
Lotus maritimus = Tetragonolobus maritimus
Lotus mearnsii = Acmispon mearnsii
Lotus micranthus = Acmispon parviflorus
Lotus nevadensis = Syrmatium decumbens
Lotus nuttallianus = Syrmatium prostratum
Lotus oblongifolius = Hosackia oblongifolia
Lotus pinnatus = Hosackia pinnata
Lotus procumbens = Acmispon procumbens
Lotus rubriflorus = Acmispon rubriflorus
Lotus salsuginosus = Acmispon maritimus
Lotus stipularis = Hosackia stipularis
Lotus tetragonolobus = Tetragonolobus purpureus
Lotus wrightii = Ottleya wrightii
Uses and ecology

Pasture with Lotus corniculatus (common bird's-foot trefoil, birds-foot deervetch)

Lotus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species. Several species are
culvivated for forage, including L. corniculatus, L. glaber, and L. pedunculatus. They can produce toxic
cyanogenic glycosides which can be potentially toxic to livestock, but also produce tannins, which are
a beneficial anti-bloating compound.

Species in this genus can fix nitrogen from the air courtesy of their root nodules, making them useful as
a cover crop. The nodulating symbionts are Bradyrhizobium and Mesorhizobium bacteria. Scientific
research for crop improvement and understanding the general biology of the genus is focused on Lotus
japonicus, which is currently the subject of a full genome sequencing project, and is considered a
model organism.

Some species, such as L. berthelotii from the Canary Islands, are grown as ornamental plants. L.
corniculatus is an invasive species in some regions of North America and Australia.