''Ottleya'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the family
(legumes). It is native to the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah) and to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
[
]
Taxonomy
''Ottleya'' belongs to a group of species traditionally placed in the tribe Loteae
The tribe Loteae is a subdivision of the plant family Fabaceae, in the Robinioids. These genera are recognized by the USDA:
* ''Acmispon'' Raf. 1832
* ''Anthyllis'' L. 1753
* '' Antopetitia'' A.Rich. 1840
* ''Coronilla'' L. 1753
* '' Cyti ...
of the subfamily Faboideae
The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family.
This subfamily is wide ...
. The taxonomy of this group is complex, and its division into genera has varied considerably. Many species of ''Ottleya'' were formerly placed in a broadly defined genus '' Lotus''. A molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
study in 2000 based on nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences confirmed the view that the "New World" (American) and "Old World" (African and Eurasian) species of ''Lotus'' did not belong in the same genus. ''Ottleya'' was monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
.[
]
Species
, Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
accepted the following species:[
*'' Ottleya flexuosa'' (Greene) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya intricata'' (Eastw.) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya mollis'' (A.Heller) D.D.Sokoloff & Gandhi
*'' Ottleya nivea'' (S.Watson) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya oroboides'' (Kunth) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya plebeia'' (Brandegee) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya rigida'' (Benth.) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya strigosa'' (Nutt.) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya utahensis'' (Ottley) D.D.Sokoloff
*'' Ottleya wrightii'' (A.Gray) D.D.Sokoloff
]
References
Loteae
Flora of Arizona
Flora of California
Flora of Colorado
Flora of Nevada
Flora of New Mexico
Flora of Texas
Flora of Utah
Flora of Mexico
Fabaceae genera
{{Loteae-stub