Family: Fabaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Lotus corniculatus (bird’s foot trefoil) is a low-growing, herbaceous perennial native to temperate regions of Eurasia, Macaronesia, northeastern and eastern tropical Africa, and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. It has spreading stems, clusters of bright yellow pea-like flowers, and distinctive seed pods that resemble a bird’s foot. This species is widely used as a forage crop for livestock due to its high nutritional value and ability to fix nitrogen, improving soil fertility. It is also planted for erosion control, groundcover, and in some cases as an ornamental in naturalized or meadow-style landscapes.

Risks & Threats
Although Lotus corniculatus is not currently known to be naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands, it possesses traits that raise concern for tropical island ecosystems. Its ability to spread by seed, tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions, and enrich soils through nitrogen fixation may allow it to outcompete native plants adapted to low-nutrient environments. In other regions, it has shown the capacity to persist and spread beyond cultivation. If introduced and established in Hawaiʻi, it could alter plant communities and ecosystem processes. For these reasons, it is recommended to choose low risk or native alternatives when suitable options are available.

High Risk Traits:

• Elevation range exceeds 1000 m, and able to grow in 5 hardiness zones, demonstrating environmental versatility
  
• A temperate species that can grow in higher elevation tropical regions
  
• Naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America (but no evidence in Hawaiian Islands to date)
  
• A disturbance-adapted weed with negative impacts on agriculture and the natural environment
  
• Other Lotus species have become invasive
  
• Contains potentially toxic amounts of cyanogenic substances (although usually not a problem for grazing animals)
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Can form dense cover that may exclude or outcompete other vegetation
  
• Reproduces primarily by seeds, but also by rhizomes
  
• Primarily self-incompatible (but low levels of seed set by selfed plants)
  
• Able to reach maturity in 3 months
  
• Seeds dispersed by ballistic dispersal, inadvertently along heavily trafficked areas, internally by animals, potentially by water, and intentionally planted by people
  
• Prolific seed production
  
• Forms a persistent seed bank
  
• Once established, tolerates repeated grazing and mowing

Low Risk Traits:

• Primarily a temperate species; may only be a risk at higher elevations of tropical and subtropical islands
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
  
• Provides fodder for livestock
  
• Light-demanding
  
• Herbicides may provide effective control