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Fabaceae FAMILY

Lotus halophilus

Lotus halophilus

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

No reports of toxicity have been seen for this species but at least one member of the genus contains toxic cyanogenic glycosides[1, 2].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Lotus halophilus is a plant of the arid, warm temperate zone. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 24°c, but can tolerate 4 - 28°c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 250 - 500mm, but tolerates 100 - 700mm[3]. Grows best in a sunny position, but tolerant of light shade[3]. It prefers a light-textured soil, but can tolerate most well-drained soils, fruiting best where fertility is either low or moderate[3]. Grows well in saline, sandy, seashore habitats[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.5, tolerating 6 - 8[3]. A good bee plant[5]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[6].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in situ in the spring or the autumn. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 15°c. If seed is in short supply, it can be sown in pots in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring or early summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Lotus+halophilus>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  2. [2]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
  5. [5]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  9. [9]Screening of some indigenous Qatari medicinal plants for antimicrobial activity — Adel M Mahasneh · 2002 · https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.1037 ↩︎