Birdsfoot trefoil

June 5, 2015

Lotus corniculatus L. Fabaceae (Legume family)

Life cycle

Mat-forming perennial.

Birdsfoot trefoil plant.

Leaves

Alternate, compound with five generally oval and smooth-margined leaflets. Each compound leaf has three terminal leaflets and two reduced leaflets near the stem.

Birdsfoot trefoil leaf.

Stems

Prostrate and spreading to semierect stems are herbaceous, branched from a tough crown and up to 3 feet long. Plants form mats by stolons and rhizomes.

Flowers and fruit

Bright yellow, pealike flowers, sometimes streaked with red, are found in flat-topped clusters at the ends of long stalks. Fruit are several linear, cylinder-shaped pods formed in the shape of a bird’s foot. Each capsule contains several roundish, shiny, olive to black seeds.

Birdsfoot trefoil flowers.

Reproduction

Seeds, stolons and rhizomes.

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MSU Extension Integrated Pest Management