Fabaceae, the pea, bean, or legume family.
Description:
Plant:
Low, often prostrate or creeping plant, highly branched, extending to 12"
or more, with clover-like leaves and pealike yellow flowers in small clusters.
Perennial
Flowers:
Yellow, classic pea-shape, with bilateral symmetry, about 1/2", in small
terminal clusters (technically umbels).
Sometimes turning orange with age or dry conditions.
Leaves:
Opposite, compound, with three obovate, 1/2" leaflets and two small leaflike
stipules at the base of the stem.
Fruit:
Elongated pods, about 1", in splayed clusters of 3-7, resembling a bird's foot.
Blooming:
June-September
Habitat:
Lawns, fields.
Comments:
Introduced from Europe, this clover relative often forms bright yellow
patches in lawns and adjacent to pavement.
It is often considered a weed.
The common name comes from the arrangement of the seed pods, which
resembles a bird's foot.
Where to find it:
Common in lawns in the park.