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Lotus australis
Also called Barwon River Lotus, Barwon River Lucerne, Barwon River Trefoil, Poison Clover, Austral Trefoil
Lotus australis, known by its common name of austral trefoil, is a small, spreading herb from the family Fabaceae. It normally grows to around 30–50 cm in height and is native to Australia.
Leaves are of a trifoliate shape and are small, with a light green colour. During spring, the plant bursts into beautiful massed displays of white pea flowers. In summer, these are replaced with stiff, tubular beans, which explode when they dry, releasing multiple small, black legume seeds. Austral trefoil is easily propagated from these seeds, by soaking the seeds in hot water overnight before sowing. This mimics the heat of a bushfire, which is a contributing factor in germination in the wild.
Lotus aduncus · Lotus aegaeus · Lotus alianus · Alpine Bird's Foot Trefoil · Lotus anfractuosus · Slender bird's-foot trefoil · Lotus arabicus · Lotus arenarius · Lotus argyrodes · Lotus arinagensis · Lotus assakensis · Lotus axilliflorus
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lotus australis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
