Lotus tenuis

{{Short description|Plant species in the pea family}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Lotus tenuis.jpeg

| image_caption =

| genus = Lotus

| species = tenuis

| authority = Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.

| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=503917-1 |title=Lotus tenuis Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd. |access-date=6 July 2024}}

| synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list

| Dorycnium iberecum | Koehne (1893)

| Lotus acutus | Waldst. & Kit. ex Steud. (1821)

| Lotus campestris | Schur (1877)

| Lotus corniculatus var. filicaulis | (Durieu) Brand (1898)

| Lotus corniculatus var. longicaulis | Martrin-Donos (1864)

| Lotus corniculatus subsp. tenuis | (Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.) Syme (1864)

| Lotus corniculatus var. tenuis | (Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.) Wahlenb. (1826)

| Lotus corniculatus | proles tenuis (Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.) Rouy (1899)

| Lotus corniculatus f. tenuifolius | (L.) Pau (1900)

| Lotus corniculatus subsp. tenuifolius | (L.) Hartm. (1846)

| Lotus corniculatus subsp. tenuifolius | (L.) Gams (1923)

| Lotus corniculatus var. tenuifolius | L. (1753)

| Lotus filicaulis | Durieu (1847)

| Lotus glaber | Mill. (1768)

| Lotus macbridei | A.Nelson (1912)

| Lotus minor | Bishop (1826)

| Lotus noeanus | Boiss. (1856)

| Lotus tenuifolius | (L.) Rchb. (1832)

| Lotus tenuifolius var. pubescens | Meisn. (1844)

| Lotus tenuifolius var. ramosissimus | Carion (1865)

}}

}}

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Lotus tenuis is a flowering plant of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western and southern Europe and southwest Asia. Some botanists treat it as a subspecies of Lotus corniculatus, as L. corniculatus subsp. tenuifolius.

Its tolerance of salt and poor soil make this plant useful for marginal conditions. It has become naturalised in many other locations, including the Pampas of Argentina, and parts of the United States.

Common names include narrowleaf trefoil,{{PLANTS|id=LOTE4|taxon=Lotus tenuis|accessdate=27 January 2016}} narrow-leaved bird's-foot-trefoil,{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}} slender trefoil, creeping trefoil, or prostrate trefoil.