Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lotus corniculatus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Birdsfoot-trefoil from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lotus corniculatus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Lotus corniculatus
INCLUDED WITHIN Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Lotus corniculatus
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-17-002:
Lotus corniculatus FAMILY Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lotus corniculatus
COMMON NAME:
Birdsfoot-trefoil, Eggs-and-Bacon
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_loco6_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_loco6_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_030
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Bright yellow half-inch flowers in long-stalked, headlike umbels, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_032
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Leaves pinnately compound, lowermost pair of leaflets resembling stipules, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lotus corniculatus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lotus corniculatus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Lotus corniculatus
INCLUDED WITHIN
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Lotus corniculatus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-17-002:
Lotus corniculatus
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lotus corniculatus
2513
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, and waste places, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Eurasia
Rare or waif(s)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
LEAVES:
Compound: 5 leaflets (lower 2 stipular in position, upper 3 digitate at rachis apex)
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellow/Reddish-orange
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, diadelphous, 9 and 1
Superior ovary
Flowers in headlike umbels
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p331
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p229
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p034
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p136
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p087
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".