Lotus corniculatus L.

About

Common bird's-foot-trefoil is one of Britain's most recognisable native wildflowers, a low, spreading perennial that forms cushions of wiry stems clothed in small, clover-like leaves. Its flowers are a vivid yellow, often flushed with orange or red in bud, a colouring that earns it the old country name of eggs-and-bacon. After flowering the seed pods radiate from a single point like the toes of a bird's foot, giving the plant its name.

It grows on well-drained neutral and calcareous soils in open, sunny situations, and is a mainstay of short grassland, banks, cliffs, dunes and meadows. Flowering from late spring through much of the summer, it is a hugely important plant for wildlife: it is the principal larval food plant of the common blue butterfly and supports many other insects, while bees visit the flowers for nectar and pollen. Low-growing and tolerant of poor soils, it is a standard ingredient of wildflower and pollinator seed mixes.

Also known as

Birdfoot Deervetch · Birdsfoot Trefoil · Bloomfell · Cat's Clover · Common Bird's-Foot-Trefoil · Common Bird's-foot Trefoil · Crowtoes · Garden Bird's-foot-trefoil · Ground Honeysuckle

Synonyms

Lotus corniculatus crassifolia · Lotus corniculatus ericetorum · Lotus corniculatus minor