Acmispon haydonii

Pygmy lotus, pygmy lotus, pygmy lotus

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Pygmy lotus is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native perennial found in southeastern Peninsular Ranges and southwestern Desert Southern California, especially San Diego County, in creosote-bush scrub and pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations of 600 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces delicate yellow flowers with a distinctive keel slightly longer than other petals. Growing with ascending or sprawling rush-like stems 10 to 200 centimeters tall and bushy in form, it develops sparse, early-deciduous subpalmate leaves with three small elliptic leaflets. Its leaves are notably minimal, with leaflets measuring just 2 to 5 millimeters long and often appearing almost absent. The fruit is an interesting curved, oblong structure 6 to 9 millimeters long with a distinctive 2 to 3 millimeter curved beak.

Habitat: Creosote-bush scrub, pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 600-1200 m

Bioregions: se PR, sw DSon (esp San Diego Co.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.