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Taxon  Report  
Acmispon americanus  (Nutt.) Rydb.  var. americanus 
American bird's foot trefoil,   Spanish lotus
Acmispon americanus var. americanus is an annual herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.
also called Lotus purshianus var. purshianus
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
bloom graphic
Bloom Period
Parent: Acmispon americanus
Genus: Acmispon
Family: Fabaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands:
Arid West: Occurs in non wetlands
Mountains, Valleys and Coast: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands

Habitat: disturbed

Communities: Yellow Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest, Subalpine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, Valley Grassland, many plant communities

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF
Alternate Names:
JEFLotus purshianus var. glaber
JEFLotus purshianus var. purshianus
Information about  Acmispon americanus var. americanus from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

International Plants Names Index

Search efloras.org (Flora of North America)

Landscape information from Calscape

Consortium of California Herbaria 2


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2023. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 05/27/2023).