Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Lotus heermannii is a species of legume known by the common name Heermann's bird's-foot trefoil. It is native to the coastal plains, canyons, and mountains of California and Baja California, where it is known from several types of oceanside and inland habitat. It is a mat-forming perennial herb spreading straight stems along the ground. It is lined with leaves made up of several hairy oval leaflets. The flower cluster is a cluster of 3 to 8 flowers each up to about a centimeter long. The petals are yellow, often with dark lobes. The fruit is a curved, beaked legume pod.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

1 - 3 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Site type

Washes, riverbanks,

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Foothill Woodland, Valley Grassland

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Orange Sulphur

Colias eurytheme

Avalon Hairstreak

Strymon avalona