Lotus angustissimus

Slender bird's foot trefoil

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Slender bird's foot trefoil is a naturalized annual found in northern California coastal counties including Sonoma and Mendocino in disturbed grasslands and roadsides at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces small yellow flowers 5 to 8 millimeters long in clusters of 1 to 3 blossoms. Growing with prostrate stems that spread and sprawl 10 to 20 centimeters across, it has a delicate, hairy appearance. Its leaves feature 8 to 12 millimeter leaflets that are elliptic to narrowly obovate with obtuse tips, giving the plant a fine, intricate texture. The fruit develops as a linear pod 1.5 to 3 centimeters long, which contains several small seeds.

Habitat: Disturbed grassland, roadsides

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NCo (Sonoma, Mendocino cos.)

California counties: Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.