Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Lotus wrightii, (Acmispon wrightii), Wright's Deervetch

Lotus wrightii, Red and Yellow Pea, Southwest Desert Flora Lotus wrightii, Red and Yellow Pea, Southwest Desert Flora Lotus wrightii, Red and Yellow Pea, Southwest Desert Flora Lotus wrightii, Red and Yellow Pea, Southwest Desert Flora

Scientific Name: Lotus wrightii, (Acmispon wrightii)
Common Name: Wright's Deervetch

Also Called: Wright Deervetch

Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae Family

Synonyms: (Acmispon wrightii, Deervetch, Hosackia wrightii, Hosackia wrightii subsp. multicaulis, Hosackia wrightii var. multicaulis, Ottleya wrightii, Red and Yellow Pea, Wright's Trefoil)

Status: Native

Duration: Perennial

Size: About 16 inches (41 cm) or more (2 feet - 61cm)

Growth Form: Wright's Deervetch is a perennial forb/herb. With multiple stems; plants grow up (erect) or spreading horizontally and then becoming erect (ascending).

Leaves: Wright's Deervetch has dark green compound leaves with narrow (digitate) palmate leaflets.

Flower Color: Wright's Deervetch has yellow, orange and red showy pea-like flowers; 1 to 3 flowers with stems (sessile) from the leaf axils; the fruit is a narrow pod.

Flowering Season: April or May to September; April to August in Texas.

Elevation: 4,500 to 9,000 feet (1,372- 2,743m).

Habitat Preferences: Mid-level to upper desert, scrub and evergreen plant communities, common in dry open pine forests.

Recorded Range: In the United States Lotus wrightii is found in the southwest in AZ, CO, NM and UT. In Arizona it is native throughout most of the state with few records in the southwest; in New Mexico it occurs over much of the western half of the state; it is found in much smaller populations in Utah and Colorado. It is also native to northern Mexico.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Lotus wrightii.

North America species range map for Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii:

North America species range map for Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii:
Click image for full size map.

U.S. Weed Information: Unknown
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: Unknown
Wetland Indicator: Unknown
Threatened/Endangered Information: Unknown

Genus Information: In North America, USDA Plants Database lists 142 species for Lotus. Worldwide, World Flora Online includes 605 accepted and 32 sub-species names for the genus.

The genus Lotus is under current taxonomic review and many species are now classified under the genus Acmispon. Lotus wrightii is now also recognized as Acmispon wrightii.

The genus Lotus was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, (1707-1778).

In the Southwestern United States: Arizona has 15 species of Lotus, California has 35 species, Nevada has 12 species, New Mexico has 5 species, Texas has 4 species and Utah has 8 species. Data approximate, subject to revision.

Comments: Wright's Deervetch is found in higher elevations and should not be considered a desert species. The species epithet was named in honor of Charles Wright (October 29, 1811 - August 11, 1885). Other plants were also named in his honor including Datura wrightii as well as the genus Carlowrightia (Wrightworts).

Also see in Southwest Desert Flora; Bird's Foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus; Foothill Deervetch, Lotus humistratus; Shrubby Deervetch, Lotus rigidus and Coastal Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus salsuginosus.

Also see in Southwest Desert Flora; Bird's Foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus; Shrubby Deervetch, Lotus rigidus, Coastal Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus salsuginosus and Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii.

Importance to Wildlife, Birds and Livestock
Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii has attractive flowers, the flowers and their seeds may be visited by hummingbirds and/or small mammals including rodents and granivorous birds in search of nectar or food.

Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii is known to be a prefered browse for Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer, as well as range livestock.

Beneficial Value to Butterflies, Honey Bees and Insects
Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii has attractive flowers, the flowers and their plants may be visited by butterflies, moths, flies, honeybees, Native Bees and other insects in search of food and nectar.

****Special Value to Native Bees****
According to The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation or other source, Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii, is recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of Native bees. Click here for more information on their Pollinator Conservation Program.

Etymology:
The genus “Lotus” (Lo'tus:); Greek origin, name applied to the taste of the Jujube fruit (Ziziphus jujuba); thought to induce contentment and forgetfulness.

The genus Lotus was published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, (1707-1778).

The species epithet wrightii was named in honor of Charles Wright, (1811-1885).

The taxon Lotus wrightii was described in 1890 by Edward Lee Greene, (1843-1915).

Ethnobotany - Native American Ethnobotany; University of Michigan - Dearborn
Wright's Deervetch, Lotus wrightii is used for such purposes as described below.
  • Isleta Food, Forage; Considered an excellent grazing plant for sheep.
  • Keres, Western Other, Unspecified; Taxon known and named but no use was specified.
  • Navajo, Ramah Drug, Analgesic; Decoction of leaves used for stomachache.
  • Navajo, Ramah Drug, Cathartic; Decoction of leaves used as a cathartic.
  • Navajo, Ramah Drug, Disinfectant; Decoction of leaves used for 'deer infection.'
  • Navajo, Ramah Drug, Gastrointestinal Aid; Decoction of leaves used for stomachache.
  • Navajo, Ramah Drug, Panacea; Plant used as 'life medicine.'
  • Zuni Drug, Witchcraft Medicine; Poultice of chewed root applied to swellings caused by being witched by a bull snake.

  • See ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.

    Date Profile Completed: 08/2/2015, updated 02/03/2022
    References and additional information:
    Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
    Plants.USDA.gov; Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search; accessed on-line; 02/01/2022, 02/03/2022.
    https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=LOWR
    https://plants.usda.gov/home/basicSearchResults?resultId=1537d7bb-ad44-449b-a96c-abf757f2a14a
    World Flora Online; A Project of the World Flora Online Consortium; An Online Flora of All Known Plants - (accessed on-line; 01/14/2022)
    http://www.worldfloraonline.org/search?query=lotus
    Native Plant Information Network, NPIN. Published on the Internet http://www.wildflower.org/plants/; accessed 02/03/2022. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.
    https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LOWR
    Wikipedia contributors. "Ottleya wrightii." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 Apr. 2021. Web. 3 Feb. 2022.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottleya_wrightii
    Wikipedia contributors. "Charles Wright (botanist)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 May. 2015. Web. 3 Feb. 2022.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Wright_(botanist)&oldid=660166462
    Allred and Ivey 2012, Heil et al. 2012, McDougall 1973; Editor: A.Hazelton 2017; from SEINet Field Guide, on-line; accessed 02/03/2022.
    https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=1577&clid=3120
    Kleiman, Russ, Dr., Associate Botanist, Dale A. Zimmerman Herbarium; Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness; Lotus wrightii, (Red and Yellow Pea, Deervetch, Wright's Trefoil); (accessed 02/03/2022); Presented in Association with the Western New Mexico University Department of Natural Sciences
    https://wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/lotus_wrightii.html
    Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, online at Yavapai County; Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants; Lotus wrightii - Wright's deervetch; (accessed online: 02/03/2022)
    https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php?genus=Lotus&species=wrightii
    Seiler, John, Peterson, John, North American species range map courtesy of Virginia Tech, Dept. of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation
    http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/
    SEINet synonyms, scientific names, geographic locations, general information.
    http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/
    Etymology: Michael L. Charters California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations; A Dictionary of Botanical and Biographical Etymology - (accessed on-line; 01/31/2022)
    http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageLH-LY.html
    http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageW.html
    IPNI (2020). International Plant Names Index. Published on the Internet http://www.ipni.org, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. [Retrieved on-line; 30 January 2022].
    https://www.ipni.org/?q=lotus\
    https://www.ipni.org/?q=lotus%20wrightii