Family: Fabaceae Bird's-foot Ornithopus perpusillus Flowering time: May-August. Winter annual. Native Frequent in most of England and Wales on dry stony or sandy acidic ground, dunes and grassland. Less frequent further north and rare in Ireland. A downy, more or less prostrate, spreading plant, the tiny whitish-cream flowers with pink-red veins. The seed pods are curved, beaked and constricted into 4-9 segments, resembling a birds foot. Pinnate leaves. Height is variable, the stems 2-40cm long.

     

Bird's-foot, Ornithopus perpusillus
Dorset. September 2007