Suomi
Svenska
Bird's-foot Trefoil
Lotus corniculatus
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Bird’s-foot Trefoil is a low, spreading to upright perennial with bright yellow, pea-like flowers in small clusters. It thrives in open, sunny, dry places such as grasslands, heaths and roadsides. After flowering it forms straight, slender pods that stick out like a bird’s foot, giving the plant its name.
Did you know?
- The name comes from the cluster of pods that splay out like a bird’s foot.
- The yellow flowers often develop orange or red tints as they age.
About the species
Identification
Perennial 10–40 cm tall with many thin, upright to leaning stems that are solid (not hollow), hairless or slightly hairy. Leaves look like five small leaflets: three at the tip and a lower pair that sit right by the stem. Leaflets are thin, oval and usually blunt. Flower heads on long stalks from the leaf joints carry 2–6 bright yellow, pea-like flowers, often with some orange‑red markings, about 1–1.5 cm long. Then come straight, slender pods in a little bunch that spreads like a bird’s foot — the best clue. Compared with Slender Bird’s-foot Trefoil, this species is sturdier and less hollow‑stemmed. Flowers in Finland from June to August.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
heath forest, shore
Flowering
Jun–Aug
About the habitat
Open, sunny places on dry, sandy or gravelly soil: coasts, heaths, dry grassland, roadside verges and old gravel pits. Native in southern Finland.
Sources
Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lotus corniculatus at Lac des Plagnes (2).jpg
Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39057
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Itämeri: kivikkorannat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39057
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keltamaite
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