Acmispon glaber – “Deerweed”

Also Known As: Common Deerweed, Deervetch, California Broom, Western Bird’s Foot Trefoil
Other Botanical Names: Lotus scoparius
Family: Legume, Bean (Fabaceae)
Bloom Period: Mar-Aug
Form: Subshrub
Habitat: Washes, rocky slopes
Leaves: Pinnately-compound with elliptical leaflets in fives on lower plant, in threes on upper stems; often deciduous
Translation: “Acmispon” is from the Greek word for “point” or “edge,” and refers to the hook-tipped fruit; “glaber” is Latin for “smooth” (as in “hairless”), which describes the leaves and stems; the original genus, “Lotus,” is a familiar-sounding yet strange Greek word that refers to a fruit that makes people who taste it forget their home; the original specific epithet, “scoparius,” is Latin for “broom-like,” which describes the shape of the plant and is preserved in one of its common names.
Notes: Like other members of the Legume Family, this plant is a nitrogen fixer.
Animal Associations: Nectar source for hummingbirds, bees. Larval food plant for butterflies, including the Chalcedon Checkerspot, Orange Sulphur, Bramble Hairstreak, Funereal Duskywing, Silvery Blue and Acmon Blue, whose larvae are tended by ants in exchange for the honeydew they secrete. Seeds eaten by Gambel’s Quail and leaves by the Western Harvest Mouse and Cactus Mouse.