Hippocrepis scabra, DC.

2. H. scabra DC. View in CoL , Prodr. 2: 312 (1825).

Perennial up to 40 cm, woody at base. Leaflets (2-)3-8 pairs, 3-12x0-5-5 mm, oblong to obovate, usually pubescent beneath. Heads 2- to 8-flowered; peduncles 2-5 times as long as the leaves. Corolla 6-12 mm; claw of the standard up to twice as long as the calyx. Legume 12-25 x (2-)3-6 mm, with broad flat regions between the seedprotuberances; segments with horseshoe-shaped to orbicular sinuses, with white papillae. Spain. Hs. This species, as defined here, is composed of three taxa, which are more or less separable geographically: H. scabra DC. , sensu stricto, from S. Spain, with corolla 8-12 mm and the legume with orbicular sinuses; H. commutata Pau , Bol. Soc. Aragon. Ci. Nat. 2: 274 (1903), from C. & N. Spain, with corolla 6-8 mm and the legume with orbicular sinuses; H. bourgaei (Nyman) Hervier , Bull. Acad. Int. Géogr. Bot. {Le Mans) 17: 37 (1907), from S.E. Spain, with corolla 5-8 mm and the legume with semicircular sinuses. The characters by which these taxa are separated are not very satisfactory, and there is considerable variation within a single population. Intermediates between 1 and 2 occur in N.E. Spain, while H. bourgaei has sometimes been included in 1 and sometimes in 3.