''Lotus corniculatus'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

and North

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoil, though the latter name is often also applied to other members of the genus. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

aceous plant, similar in appearance to some

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus h ...

s. The name 'bird's foot' refers to the appearance of the seed pods on their stalk. Five

leaf A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

lets are present, but with the central three held conspicuously above the others, hence the use of the name 'trefoil'. It is often used as forage and is widely used as food for livestock due to its nonbloating properties.

Description

The height of the plant is variable, from , occasionally more where supported by other plants; the stems can reach up to long. It is typically sprawling at the height of the surrounding grassland. It can survive fairly close grazing, trampling, and mowing. It is most often found in sandy

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

s. It flowers from June to September. The flowers develop into small pea-like pods or

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

s. The plant had many common English names in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, which are now mostly out of use. These names were often connected with the yellow and orange colour of the flowers, e.g. 'butter and eggs'. One name that is still used is eggs and bacon (or bacon and eggs). Lotus corniculatus Minnesota

Subtaxa

The following subspecies are accepted: *''Lotus corniculatus'' subsp. ''afghanicus'' *''Lotus corniculatus'' subsp. ''corniculatus'' *''Lotus corniculatus'' subsp. ''delortii'' *''Lotus corniculatus'' subsp. ''fruticosus'' *''Lotus corniculatus'' subsp. ''preslii''

Distribution and habitat

''Lotus corniculatus'' has a broad distribution worldwide. It is common everywhere in Britain and Ireland. Habitats include old fields, grassy places, and roadsides.Hackney, P. (Ed) 1992. ''Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland,'' Third Edition. Institute of Irish Studies,The Queen's University of Belfast.

Uses

It is used in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

as a

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also us ...

plant, grown for

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or s ...

, hay, and silage. It is a high quality forage that does not cause bloat in ruminants. Taller-growing

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been developed for this. It may be used as an alternative to alfalfa in poor soils. A double-flowered variety is grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

. It is regularly included as a component of wildflower mixes in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. It can also prevent soil erosion and provide a good habitat for wildlife. Fresh bird's-foot trefoil contains cyanogenic glycosides, which release small amounts of

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on a ...

when macerated. This is not normally poisonous to humans, though, as the dose is very low, and the metabolization of cyanide is relatively quick. Condensed tannins are also present in ''L. corniculatus''. In the traditional medicine of the Sannio regio of Italy, the diluted infusions were used for anxiety, insomnia, and exhaustion.

Ecology

The flowers are mostly visited by

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gene ...

s. In the Chicago Region, mostly non-native bees have been observed visiting the flowers, including ''

Andrena wilkella ''Andrena wilkella'', also known as Wilke's mining bee, is a species of miner bee in the family Andrenidae. Its original distribution is Europe. It has been accidentally introduced to North America long ago, possibly with ship ballast. It is act ...

'', '' Anthidium oblongatum'', '' Apis mellifera'' and '' Megachile rotundata''. The native bees '' Bombus impatiens'' and ''

Megachile relativa ''Megachile relativa'' is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Both that their pollen-carrying structure (called a ''scopa'') is restricted to the ventral surface of the ...

'' have also been observed visiting birdsfoot trefoil flowers, though the latter only rarely. The plant is an important nectar source for many

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and is also used as a

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

l food plant by many species of Lepidoptera such as six-spot burnet and the silver-studded blue. It is a host plant for the wood white butterfly, '' Leptidea sinapis''.Clarke, S. A.; Green, D. G.; Joy, J.; Wollen, K.; Butler, I. (2011-04-01)
"Leptidea sinapis (Wood White butterfly) egg-laying habitat and adult dispersal studies in Herefordshire"
''Journal of Insect Conservation''. 15 (1-2): 23–35. doibr>10.1007/s10841-010-9300-8

ISSN An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSNs ...

br>1366-638X

Invasive species

Birdsfoot trefoil is an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

in many parts of North America and Australia. It has been commonly planted along roadsides for erosion control or pastures for forage and then spreads into natural areas. Once it has established in an area, it can outcompete

native species In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

. The use of prescribed fire is not an effective management tool against ''Lotus corniculatus'' and herbicide is recommended instead to control it.

Gallery

References

External links

Jones, D.A. and Turkington, R., 1986. Biological flora of the British Isles: ''Lotus corniculatus''. Journal of Ecology 74, pp.1185-1212.Jepson manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q29907 corniculatus Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus