Narrowleaf Bird's-foot-trefoil
Lotus tenuis
Found in fields, roadsides, and waste places. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- About 1 foot
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Bloom
- June to September
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves
Recorded in 8 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Ostrinia penitalisAmerican Lotus Borer, Lily Moth
- Sparganothis xanthoidesMosaic Sparganothis
- Xenotemna pallorana
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lotus
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
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
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 1 foot” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Narrowleaf Bird's foot trefoil
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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