Lotus tetragonolobus
L. Winged PeaDecumbent hairy annual herb; stems to 40 cm tall, pilose. Leaflets dimorphic, sparsely pubescent; basal 2 ovate, to 5–10 mm long, 3–7 mm wide, apices ± acute; terminal 3 obovate, 15–50 mm long, 8–20 mm wide, apices usually acute. Inflorescence 1- or 2-flowered; peduncle 2–4 cm long; calyx campanulate, c. 15 mm long, pilose, teeth erect in bud, about equal, longer than or as long as tube; corolla c. 20 mm long, dark red to purple; standard ovate-orbicular to obovate-orbicular, longer than keel. Pod terete, 3–7 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, straight, glabrous, margins thickened, with 4 undulate, papery wings, c. 2–4 mm wide; seeds many, subglobose, 3.5–4.5 mm long, mottled, brown.
Naturalised in NSW. Native to southern Europe.
Cultivated for its edible fruits, recorded twice in Victoria at St. Albans in 1898 (Willis 1973) and on the Delatite River in 1892. There are no recent records, and it is possible that both collections were made from cultivated plants.
Distinguished by its prominently winged pods and showy scarlet flowers. Lotus tetragonolobus is sometimes treated in a separate genus, Tetragonolobus Scop.
