Department: angiosperms (Magnoliophyta)
Class: dicotyledonous (Dicotyledones).
Order: Legumes (Fabales).
Family: legumes (Fabaceae).
Genus: lotus (Lotus).
Species: spotted lotus (L. maculatus).
Lotus spotted – endemic to the Canary Islands, more precisely the northern part of Tenerife. The lotus flower grows among halophilic shrubs along the seashore, on infertile substrates.
A perennial herbaceous plant or subshrub spotted lotus reaches a height of up to 20 cm. The stems are creeping or hanging down, up to 60 cm long. The leaves are palmately compound, about 2.5 cm long. The leaves are narrow-lanceolate, silver-green, covered with fluff.
Lotus flower and his photo
The lotus flower is bisexual, zygomorphic, moth-like, bright orange, up to 4 cm long. It has a wide, strongly bent back sail and a large pointed boat with a red spot. The fruit is a straight bean with two partitions and many small seeds.
Propagated mainly by seeds. Lotus plant blooms in summer, pollinated by bees. The fruits ripen in autumn, burst at the seam, the seeds are released and germinate nearby.
Lotus spotted is grown as an ornamental plant. Lotus flowers of Bertolet (L. berthelottii), silver leaf (L. argophyllus), thin (L. tenuifolius) and horned (L. corniculatus) are also used in landscape design. The latter is rich in proteins and vitamins, therefore it is used as feed for livestock. Thanks to symbiotic nodule bacteria, all lotuses enrich the soil with nitrogen.
The Russian name of the plant lotus – lyadvenets – comes from the word “lyadveya”. It used to be called the kidneys, which the seeds of this plant look like.
The range of the species does not exceed 1 km2, and its total number is less than 50 individuals and continues to decline. This is due to grazing, uncontrolled collection and trampling by tourists.