Bird's-foot trefoil is a sprawling perennial in the pea family with clusters of bright yellow flowers, native to Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa. It was brought to North America as livestock forage and for roadside erosion control, and it now grows widely along roadsides, in pastures, and in lawns, sometimes spreading into natural areas. It is also called eggs-and-bacon.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A sprawling to upright perennial 6–24 in (15–60 cm) tall. Stems root at the joints and spread by underground stems to form colonies.
- Leaves
- Each leaf has 3 small leaflets plus a pair of leaflike at the base, so it looks like it has five.
- Flowers
- Clusters of 3–12 bright yellow, pea-like flowers, each about 1/2 in (8–12 mm) long, sit at the tip of a bare stalk. The top petal is often streaked red, and flowers may turn orange with age.
- Flowering time
- June through August in Minnesota.
- Fruit
- Slender purplish-brown pods about 3/4–1 1/2 in (2–4 cm) long spread out from the stalk tip like a bird's foot, each holding up to 25 tiny seeds.
Look-alikes
Black medick packs 10–30 tiny yellow flowers into a tight little head, and its coiled seedpods turn black. Bird's-foot trefoil has fewer, larger flowers in an open ring, smooth-edged leaflets, and long straight pods.
Why they get mixed upBoth are low, spreading roadside and lawn plants with yellow pea flowers and clover-like leaves.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Roadsides
- Fields and lawns
- Pastures
- Range
- Native to Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa. In North America it was planted for forage and along roadsides for erosion control, and it now grows widely in disturbed ground.
- Preferred conditions
- Full sun and disturbed soil: fields, lawns, roadsides, gravel pits, and woodland edges. It handles grazing, trampling, and mowing well.
- Flowering
Flowers Jun–Aug
Flowers Jun–Aug
Cautions
- Cautions
- The plant contains compounds that release small amounts of hydrogen cyanide when crushed.
Name and classification
- Varieties and forms
- A double-flowered form is grown as an ornamental, and the plant still turns up in some forage and turf seed mixes.
Conservation
- Conservation
- Listed as invasive in Minnesota, with eradication recommended, because it can move into higher-quality natural habitat.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Farmers value it as forage because it does not cause bloat in grazing animals.
More species to explore
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