Ottleya
# Ottleya

Ottleya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is native to the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah) and to Mexico.

## Taxonomy

Ottleya belongs to a group of species traditionally placed in the tribe Loteae of the subfamily Faboideae. 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 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.

### Species

As of February 2018, Plants of the World Online 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
