Common bird's-foot trefoil.

Auf einen Blick

Pflegestufe

Einfach

Pflanzenart

Perennial herb

Licht

Full sun

Licht im Innenraum

Direkte Sonne

Gießen

Alle 7 bis 14 Tage

Endgröße

15 to 30 centimeters

Wachstum

Mittel

Winterhärte

USDA 4 bis 9

Blütezeit

Late spring to early autumn

Pflege

Plant this in a spot that gets plenty of sun and has well-draining soil. Keep an eye out for aphids during the warmer months. It is quite drought tolerant once established, so you do not need to fuss over it too much.

Gießen

Water deeply only when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch.

Düngen

This plant rarely needs fertilizer as it fixes its own nitrogen.

Schneiden

Trim back after flowering to encourage a tidy shape and potential second bloom.

Umtopfen

Repot only if the plant becomes root bound in its container.

Boden

Well-draining, sandy or loamy soil

Boden-pH

6.0 to 7.5

Temperatur

-25 bis 35°C

Luftfeuchtigkeit

30 bis 70%

Trockenheitstoleranz

Hoch

Lebensdauer

Perennial, typically 3 to 5 years.

Duft

Leicht

Wildverbiss-Resistenz

Mittel

Sicherheit

Menschen

The plant is considered mildly toxic if ingested due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides.

Kinder

Keep children away from the plant as the foliage and seeds are not intended for consumption.

Kontaktallergene

Handling the foliage may cause mild skin irritation in sensitive individuals.

Allergene in der Luft

The pollen can cause mild allergic reactions in some people during the peak flowering season.

Essbarkeit

While not highly toxic, it contains cyanogenic glycosides and should not be consumed by humans.

So erkennst du die Pflanze

• Bright yellow pea-like flowers
• Five leaflets per leaf
• Spreading low growth habit
• Seed pods resemble bird feet

Höhe

0,05 bis 0,4m

Breite

0,3 bis 0,6m

Blätter

green, deciduous

Blüten

yellow, orange, 1 bis 2cm

Früchte

brown, Late summer

Häufige Probleme

• Powdery mildew — A fungal infection that appears as white dusty patches on the leaves.

Standort und Pflege

Vermehrung

seed, division

Pflanzzeit

spring, autumn

Überwinterung

Cut back dead foliage in late autumn to tidy the plant. It is fully hardy and requires no special protection during winter.

Im Kübel

It grows well in containers, but ensure the pot has excellent drainage and is at least 20 centimeters deep.

Plant this as a living mulch around larger perennials to suppress weeds and boost nitrogen levels.

Gute Pflanzpartner

• Schafgarbe — They share similar soil and light requirements.
• Ox-eye Daisy — They create a classic meadow aesthetic together.

Ähnliche Arten

• Lotus pedunculatus — It is a larger relative that prefers wetter soil conditions.

Botanisches

Familie

Fabaceae

Gattung

Lotus

Ordnung

Fabales

Klasse

Magnoliopsida

Ursprüngliche Heimat

Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

Artenschutz

It is a common and widespread species not currently of conservation concern.

It survives in the wild by forming symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its root nodules.

Nutzen für Wildtiere

larval host plant, nectar source

Bestäuber

Bienen, Schmetterlinge, Nachtfalter

Verwendung

ground cover, meadow planting, soil improvement, pollinator garden

Taxonomie abgeglichen mit GBIF.

Häufige Fragen

Is this plant invasive?

It can be aggressive in some regions, so check your local regulations before planting.

Does it need fertilizer?

No, it fixes its own nitrogen and prefers lean soil.

Woher der Name kommt

The genus name Lotus comes from the Greek word for a type of clover, while corniculatus refers to the horn-like shape of the seed pods.

Gut zu wissen

• It is commonly known as bird's foot trefoil because the seed pods resemble a bird's foot.
• The flowers often turn orange as they age.
• It is a hardy plant that thrives in poor, rocky soils.

Auch in

• Trockenheitsverträgliche Pflanzen