Lotus crassifolius (Benth.) Greene

vernacular big deervetch — species · Fabaceae

USDA: LOCR
GBIF: 2939862 syn.
Rank: species

PlateNo public-domain or CC photograph located.

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Fabaceae Lindl.
Genus: Lotus

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 27 counties across 2 states/territories

Legend Native · 27 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -3 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 145 min.
Precipitation: 14–24 in/yr
pH range: 6–7.5
Root depth: 14 in min.
Fertility need: Medium
Soil texture: medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Crown
Growth rate: Moderate
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 3.5 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Gray-Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: Low
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Late Spring
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Spring
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 46,000
Propagation: seed

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: No Known Source
Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Medium
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 27 counties across 2 states/territories.

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/LOCR ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2939862 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T14:42:51Z