Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil - introduced (*Lotus uliginosus)

Other names: Greater Lotus.

Family: Fabaceae (Pea family).

Native of the Europe and North Africa.

Occurrence: In central Victoria it is a weed of damp areas, such as grassy creeklines, where it can displace native vegetation.

Identification:

• it has clusters of yellow pea flowers, which radiate from a central -point
• the flower clusters contain six or more flowers
• the yellow flowers have narrow red veins
• the leaves have five leaflets; the upper three are clover-like, and the lower pair are smaller and attached to the base of the leaf
• the pods are cylindrical, and, like the flowers, radiate from a central point.

Lesser Bird’s-foot Trefoil (*Lotus corniculata) also grows in Central Victoria. It has six or fewer flowers in each cluster. Native Lotus do not have yellow flowers, and the leaflets of each leaf are about equal in size.

Photos 1,2: Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil. The leaves appear to be 5-foliate; the three lobes of the leaf, and two stipules (leaf-like structures at the leaf base). The pods are narrow and radiate from the attachment point. Lake Wendouree.
3,4: Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil. Lake Wendouree.