Carolina Prairie-trefoil
Acmispon helleri
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in dry forests and woodlands; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground; prairies and grasslands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 47%
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
Height and bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 1 Alabama county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lotus
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Glaucopsyche lygdamusSilvery Blue
- Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
- Xenotemna pallorana
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Acmispon
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
Also known as
Carolina Prairie trefoil; Lotus helleri; Lotus unifoliolatus var. helleri; bird's foot trefoil; bird's-foot-trefoil
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T3 [G3] |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications