Lotus corniculatus Plenus

Lotus corniculatus Plenus, also known as Common Bird's-foot Trefoil or Horned Lotus, is an undershrub with clover-like leaves and pea-like flowers, offering clusters of double golden-yellow flowers from spring to late summer. Drought-resistant and evergreen in mild winters, this plant deeply anchors its roots and covers the ground. Robust and undemanding, sun-loving, it generously spreads in rocky areas, above walls, where it cascades like a rain of gold, infinitely graceful.

Lotus corniculatus Plenus belongs to the Fabaceae family. It is the double form of Lotus corniculatus, a cosmopolitan plant found in meadows, woods, fields, and slopes, throughout France and Corsica. It is a perennial, forming an undershrub, a dense and spreading tuft, with a semi-rampant habit, measuring 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6in) in height, spreading up to 30 cm (12in). The flowering period is particularly long and bright, melliferous, delighting both bees and gardeners from May-June until September-October. The pea-like flowers, keeled and double, in small clusters, range from intense yellow to coppery if the plant grows at higher altitudes. The semi-evergreen to evergreen foliage is composed of small leaves, with rounded leaflets of a beautiful bright green. Like clover, its leaves have a particular arrangement. They are composed of 3 leaflets and are arranged along solid or slightly hollow stems, either prostrate or ascending. The flowering is followed by the formation of cylindrical and elongated pods, terminated by a small beak that gave the plant its name. When mature, they project the seeds far away. The empty, dry pod resembles a houndstooth pattern. This plant has an extensive and deep root system, allowing it to stabilize the soil in which it thrives.

Double-flowered bird's-foot trefoil is a plant for well-drained soils and full sun. Plant it in rocky areas, along gravel paths, on slopes, above walls. In these settings, it can be associated with creeping rosemary, Geranium traversii or endressii, yarrows, aethionemas, cotula hispida, dianthus erinaceus, frankenia laevis.

Lotus corniculatus was formerly used to produce a yellow dye. It is used as a green manure because, like many Fabaceae, its roots fix nitrogen. This plant has recognized medicinal properties, such as being an antispasmodic and a cardiac tonic.