About Hosackia oblongifolia Benth.
Hosackia oblongifolia (synonym: Lotus oblongifolius) is a legume species native to western North America, ranging from Oregon to northern Mexico. Its common names are streambank bird's-foot trefoil and meadow lotus. It grows in moist to wet areas across multiple habitat types. This is a spreading or upright perennial herb. Its leaves are lined along the stem, and each leaf is composed of 3 elongated oval leaflets, each up to 2.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence holds several yellow and white flowers, each 1 to 2 centimeters long. The fruit is very elongated, reaching up to 5 centimeters in length with a width of just a few millimeters. Some sources separate plants with copper-colored flowers into the variety var. cupreus, called copper-flowered bird's-foot trefoil. These copper-flowered plants are found on the Sierra Nevada slopes of Tulare County, California.
