BIRD'S FOOT TREFOIL

BIRD'S FOOT TREFOIL ALONG THE ROADSIDE...

...TRUSS OF THREE SMALL, TYPICAL PEA FLOWERS...

 ...SMALL, "BIRD'S FOOT' COMPOUND LEAF

Monday, 8:00 AM.  67 at the ferry dock, 64 on the back porch.  Wind SSW, mostly calm with light gusts.  The sky is overcast and it is raining.  A thunderstorm has already put over a half inch of rain in the glass, and both rain barrels are full and overflowing.  The humidity is 94% and the barometer is still heading down, currently at 29.83".  It looks like an all day rain and into the evening as well.  My desk and environs are a mess, and today would be an opportunity to get things cleaned up, but I will probably find convenient excuses to not do so.

   Birds' foot trefoil, Lotus comutatis, in the Pea Family, is an ubiquitous roadside weed of European origin. It gets its common name from its compound three-leaflet leaves, which somewhat resemble a bird's foot.  It is a legume, and as such fixes nitrogen and improves the fertility of the soil, thus can grow in poor soils where most plants can not.  It is quite beautiful along roadsides and in pastures, and unfortunately in lawns, where it can withstand mowing and purists can't tolerate it.

   Bird's foot trefoil is listed in Wisconsin and elsewhere as an invasive and noxious weed, although it was introduced as an agricultural plant, akin to alfalfa.
   Since bird's foot trefoil is ubiquitous, fixes nitrogen, and is quite attractive, what makes it a noxious weed, and is it worth trying to eradicate it?  I can't answer that one.You will have to ask the folks in the DNR who make up such rules.