Bird's-foot Trefoil

Lotus corniculatus

This cheerful native perennial threads through meadow grass with bright yellow pea flowers tipped orange-red and held in neat clusters, earning its name from the radiating seed pods that follow. An ecological powerhouse, it is beloved by bumblebees and other pollinators and serves as a caterpillar food plant for common blue, wood white, and other butterflies — an essential component of any wildlife-minded meadow or wildflower lawn.