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Recent Dispersal of Lotus corniculatus var. japonicus Regel Along East Coastal Areas of South Korea.

Tae-Young MOON

Section of Forensic and Conservation Biology
Department of Biological Sciences
Kosin University, Pusan 606-701, Korea
tymoon@sdg.kosin.ac.kr

Lotus corniculatus L. is a common and native leguminous plant in Europe, while Lotus corniculatus var. japonicus Regel has distributed eastward from Nepal through China to Korea and Japan. In Korea, L.c. var japonicus has been found nationwide but in scattered pattern. Except the Island Chejudo where L.c. var. japonicus distributes in a carpeting pattern on plateaus and cliffs, the species was not likely to be successful to flourish in the peninsular part of South Korea. It has been treated as a rather neglected weedy plant appeared in patchy environment in general, although some applications were tested as fodder crops or as materials for genetic experiments.

During recent surveys on the fauna and flora along east coasts of South Korea, many small populations of L.c. var. japonicus were discovered at the roadside margins of sandy shores. They had neither recorded nor noticed previously at the sites where they are discovered (Moon & Kim, 1992). The plants seem to successfully propagate themselves along the roadside but found rarely in true areas of the sands. It may be because the distance of the sands to sea is generally short so that the sands are usually emerged in flow.

This fast dispersal of L.c. var corniculatus may be due to artificial introduction of topsoil to recover new seaside roads or to enhance roadside shoulders. Such introductions were noticed firstly at the new and renovated rural roadside shoulders near the Pohang and Ulsan the heavy and chemical industrial cities, many parts of which have been covered with asphalt or cement. Recent development of other coastal villages was also connected to and supported by the roads from the two cities in southeast coast of Korea. This is an interesting case of a neglected alien species that disperse clearly along the roadside after a long latent period.

The sampled plants at 62 different sites showed, furthermore, almost homogenous characters in external morphology and chemistry; almost all prostrate type, and in general, short wide leaves, pale colour of flowers, light colours of keels, flowering period between mid-June and early July, cyanogenic frequencies between 72-80 % in leaves and 71-83 % in flowers.

The sampled materials were usually of no damages on vegetative parts of the plants. Except a few nematodes from stems and many blue butterflies visiting flowers, no herbivorous insects were found from the sampled plants as noted previously (Moon, 1992; 1993). It is a contrast to that a number of insects were recorded at various parts of the plants of L. corniculatus in Europe.

This was composed incidentally from the result of the national survey on fauna and flora in Korea. But the investigation on L.c. var. japonicus will be continued for the ecology on distribution and herbivores.

Literature

Moon, T.Y. 1992. Kor.J.Ecol.Soc. 15(1):75-80 ; Moon, T.Y., Kim, J.H., 1992, Lotus Newsletter, 23:23-28 ; Moon, T.Y., 1993, Lotus Newsletter, 24:41-43

TYM will be appreciated for any suggestions and advice in the matters of distribution, propagation, selection and herbivores of L. corniculatus complex. The small portions of seed samples will be available for exchanges with other Lotus species in 2000.

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