The golden Birdsfoot Trefoil grows nearly everywhere. You can gather its
tufts of bright yellow flowers all summer in the fields and woods and
waste places.
The flowers grow in heads at the end of a long flower-stalk, and each
head may have from four to eight flowers close together in a bunch.
The five petals are golden-yellow streaked with red, and they are
strangely shaped. There is one big petal which stands up behind. Then
there are two long-shaped petals which lie sideways, and two small ones
that are joined together in a curious point.
After the petals fall off, the seed-vessel in the centre of the stamens
grows into a long, thin red pod; and when there are four or five of
these narrow pods at the end of the flower-stalk, they look like the
claw of a bird.
That is why this Trefoil is called Birdsfoot.
The leaves are very pretty. There is a single small green leaflet, with
smooth round edges, at the end of a short stalk. Just below this little
leaflet there is a pair of tiny leaflets. And further down, where the
stalk joins the main stem, you will find still another little pair. So
that the name Trefoil, which means 'three leaves,' is not correct, as
there are really five small leaflets on each short stalk.