Lotus corniculatus [Birdsfoot Trefoil]

[Andrea B.]

Blum, A.G. 2012. Lotus corniculatus L. (Fabaceae). Birdsfoot Trefoil. Flowers photographed in ultraviolet and visible light. http://www.ultraviol...dsfoot-trefoil/

Seal Cove, Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA

17 July 2012

Wildflower

 

Comment:

These little yellow umbellate crowns cheerfully grow in lawns, along the roads and in grassy fields on Mount Desert Island. Its seedpods fan out like a bird's foot with several toes, hence the name. Three of its 5 compound leaflets grow terminally giving it the Trefoil designation. L. corniculatus is non-native to the US, but is quite widespread.

 

Reference:

1. Mittelhauser et al. (2010) Birdsfoot-trefoil, page 185. The Plants of Acadia National Park. The U. of Maine Press, Orono, ME.

2. Newcomb, L. (1977) Birdsfoot Trefoil, page 66. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown & Co., New York City, NY.


 

Equipment [Nikon D300-broadband + Carl Zeiss 60mm f/4.0 UV-Planar]

 

Visible Light [f/8 for 1/60" @ ISO 200 with onboard Flash and Baader UVIR-Block Filter]

 

Ultraviolet Light [f/8 for 1/60" @ ISO 500 with SB-14 UV-modified Flash and Baader UV-Pass Filter]

[nfoto]

This is a polymorphic species with a lot of races, some are native others are cultivated. The European ssp. sativus has a similar UV appearance as you showed here, but the petals are light-coloured along their edges.