This is another tiny member of the clover family but it seems to stand out better from its surroundings such that I can see it when standing up. It tends to grow in short cropped grass so can be hidden unless probing the loose blades of grass away.

The other name which I have known this plant by is Fenugreek but that can be confused with the European herb and arable crop Trigonella foenum-graecum so perhaps "Bird's-foot Clover" is a better common name.

Although we found it inland, the distribution of Trifolium ornithopodioides is mostly coastal: it is found along the coasts of Wales, southern and eastern England but only occasionally in Scotland and eastern Ireland.

Boggy field in Kent 2nd June 2007

Added on 7th May 2008, updated 16th February 2012