Lotus corniculatus L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Fabaceae

• Scientific Name

  Lotus corniculatus L.

• Description

  Species Description - Taprooted, usually ± glabrous perennial with prostrate to suberect stems to 6 dm; lvs subsessile, 5-foliolate, the lower pair of lfls evidently removed from the 3 crowded terminal lfls and resembling foliaceous stipules; lfls 5–15 mm, elliptic to oblanceolate, mostly 1.5–2.5 times as long as wide; fls mostly 4–8 together, in long-peduncled, head-like umbels from the upper axils; pedicels 1–3 mm; cal-tube 2.8–3.5 mm; cor mostly 10–16 mm, bright yellow, becoming orange and marked with brick-red; filaments unequal, the 5 longer dilated at the tip; fr 1.5–3.5 cm; 2n=24. Native of Europe, cult. as a forage-crop, and widely established in meadows and disturbed habitats in the U.S., common in our range. June–Aug.

• Common Names

  Birdsfoot trefoil