Hosackia crassifolia Lotus dendroideus = Acmispon dendroideus Lotus denticulatus = Acmispon denticulatus Lotus grandiflorus = Acmispon grandiflorus Lotus hamatus = Acmispon micranthus Lotus haydonii = Acmispon haydonii Lotus heermannii = Acmispon heermannii Lotus humistratus = Acmispon brachycarpus Lotus incanus = Hosackia incana Lotus junceus = Acmispon junceus Lotus mearnsii = Acmispon mearnsii Lotus micranthus = Acmispon parviflorus Lotus nevadensis = Acmispon decumbens Lotus nuttallianus = Acmispon prostratus Lotus oblongifolius = Hosackia oblongifolia Lotus pinnatus = Hosackia pinnata Lotus procumbens = Acmispon procumbens Lotus rubriflorus = Acmispon rubriflorus Lotus salsuginosus = Acmispon maritimus Lotus stipularis = Hosackia stipularis Lotus wrightii = Ottleya wrightii Uses and ecology Lotus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species. Several species are cultivated for forage, including L. corniculatus, L. glaber, and L. pedunculatus. They can produce toxic cyanogenic glycosides which can be potentially toxic to livestock, but also produce tannins, which are a beneficial anti-bloating compound. Species in this genus can fix nitrogen from the air courtesy of their root nodules, making them useful as a cover crop. The nodulating symbionts are Bradyrhizobium and Mesorhizobium bacteria. Scientific research for crop improvement and understanding the general biology of the genus is focused on L. japonicus, which is currently the subject of a full genome sequencing project, and is considered a model organism. Some species, such as L. berthelotii from the Canary Islands, are grown as ornamental plants. L. corniculatus is an invasive species in some regions of North America and Australia. References External links Lotus species names Fabaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus