Lotus cruentus
Court Red Bird's-foot TrefoilProstrate or ascending perennial herb; stems to 50 cm long, sparsely to densely pubescent or glabrous, somewhat flexuose. Leaflets obovate, sparsely hairy, apices rounded or truncate; basal pair 3–12 mm long, 2–6 mm wide; terminal three 4–21 mm long, 2–10 mm wide. Inflorescences mostly 1–4-flowered; peduncle 0.5–6 cm long; calyx campanulate, 4–5 mm long, pubescent with white appressed hairs, teeth erect in bud, equal, about as long as the tube; corolla 4–10 mm long, pink, red or purple, rarely white; standard broadly obovate, equal to keel; keel sharply angled on lower edge, beak dark. Pod terete, 1.5–4.5 cm long, 1.5–3 mm wide, sometimes curved, virtually glabrous; seeds 5–28, subglobose, 1.3–2 mm long, compressed, mottled, dark brown. Flowers most of year.
LoM, MuM, Wim, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF, OtP, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGU. Also WA, NT, SA, Qld, NSW. Occurs on floodplains, sandplains and rocky hillsides in a variety of plant communities.
Scattered across dry inland parts of north-western Victoria, with isolated occurrences in rain-shadow areas of the upper Snowy River
A very variable species in terms of leaflet and flower size with some specimens closely approaching Lotus australis.
Jeanes, J.A. (1996). Fabaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 663–829. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
