The pea family (Leguminosae or Fabaceae) is one of the largest flowering plant families. It is known for its nitrogen fixing association with Rhizobium that form root nodules allowing conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate.
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- Red clover
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- White clover
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- Bird’s foot trefoil
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- Tufted vetch
Four of the commoner legumes flowering in the open meadow area near the grotto at top of the lake in the Wilderness are Red clover (Trifolium pratense), White clover (Trifolium repens), Bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca).
There are two Lotus species on campus, L.corniculatus shown here and also L.pedunculatus, now they look a bit similar but there is a clever way to tell them apart even if they are not flowering, watch this blog space for the answer…