Bird's-foot Trefoil
Lotus corniculatus
Also known as Common Bird's-foot-trefoil, Garden Birdsfoot Trefoil, Birdsfoot
Climate Match for your location
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A low-growing legume with fine, clover-like foliage and bright yellow flowers tinged with red or orange. Excellent nitrogen-fixing groundcover or meadow plant that attracts pollinators.
Why grow it
Bird's-foot trefoil fills a middle ground between white clover and alfalfa for nitrogen fixation in cooler climates and lower-fertility soils. It establishes more slowly than white clover but tolerates poor drainage and acidic conditions better than most legumes, making it useful where those soil constraints limit alternatives. As a fine-textured groundcover, it produces less biomass than alfalfa but persists longer under grazing or mowing than many annual clovers.
Watch out for
This plant can self-seed prolifically in disturbed areas and meadows, so management through regular cutting or grazing may be necessary to prevent it from dominating other sown species. It tends to winter-kill in very cold climates without snow cover, requiring reseeding in exposed locations.
Overview
- Form
- Growth Rate
- Size
- Dormancy
- Family
- Fabaceae
Native Range
Europe and Western Asia
Seasonality
Bloom Season
Harvest Season
Season of Interest
Ground cover
Low spreading plants that carpet the soil.
Succession Role
Tolerances & Soil
Flood Tolerance
Deer Resistance
Inferred from USDA browse palatability
pH Range
Soil Texture
Establishment & Care
- Establishment
- Maintenance
- Propagation
A low-growing legume with fine, clover-like foliage and bright yellow flowers tinged with red or orange. Excellent nitrogen-fixing groundcover or meadow plant that attracts pollinators.
Climate Match for your location
See how well Bird's-foot Trefoil grows in your area.
Enter your ZIP code and we'll show you how this plant fits your local climate.
Why grow it
Bird's-foot trefoil fills a middle ground between white clover and alfalfa for nitrogen fixation in cooler climates and lower-fertility soils. It establishes more slowly than white clover but tolerates poor drainage and acidic conditions better than most legumes, making it useful where those soil constraints limit alternatives. As a fine-textured groundcover, it produces less biomass than alfalfa but persists longer under grazing or mowing than many annual clovers.
Watch out for
This plant can self-seed prolifically in disturbed areas and meadows, so management through regular cutting or grazing may be necessary to prevent it from dominating other sown species. It tends to winter-kill in very cold climates without snow cover, requiring reseeding in exposed locations.
Overview
- Form
- Growth Rate
- Size
- Dormancy
- Family
- Fabaceae
Native Range
Europe and Western Asia
Seasonality
Bloom Season
Harvest Season
Season of Interest
Ground cover
Low spreading plants that carpet the soil.
Succession Role
Tolerances & Soil
Flood Tolerance
Deer Resistance
Inferred from USDA browse palatability
pH Range
Soil Texture
Establishment & Care
- Establishment
- Maintenance
- Propagation
Similar ground covers you might consider:
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