Category: Fabaceae

  • Crown Vetch (Securigera varia)

    Securigera varia

    Crown Vetch has become a nuisance invader in many areas, but its bicolor flowers are always a cheerful sight. It was a popular erosion-control planting, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike especially made frequent use of it. These plants were blooming on a roadside in Robinson Township.

    Crown Vetch
    Securigera varia
    Photographed June 13 with a Kodak EasyShare Z981.

    For a description of the species, see the Securigera varia reference page.

  • White Clover (Trifolium repens)

    Trifolium repens

    It grows in every lawn, but unless you are obsessive about your grass, there is little to object to in this little weed. It is very easy to mow, it never grows very tall even without mowing, and it does the soil good. These flower heads were blooming in a lawn in Beechview.

    White Clover
    Photographed May 13 with a Kodak EasyShare Z981.
  • Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius)

    Lathyrus latifolius

    Also called “Perennial Sweet Pea,” this is a gorgeous and rampant vine that can take over a hillside, but it rewards us with these sweet-pea flowers over a long blooming season. These were photographed on June 8 in Beechview.

    For a fuller description, see the Lathyrus latifolius reference page.

    Everlasting Pea
    Perennial Sweet Pea
  • Alsike Clover (Trifolium repens)

    Trifolium hybridum close up

    Alsike clover is not nearly as common as Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) or White Clover (Trifolium repens). It does look rather like a cross between the two; Linnaeus thought it was, which is why it is saddled with the species name hybridum. The bicolored flower heads make this a very decorative plant. This patch was blooming May 30 in South Side Park.

    For a more detailed description, see the Trifolium hybridum reference page.

    Trifolium hybridum
    Alsike clover
  • Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa)

    Senna hebecarpa
    Photographed August 26.

    A tall and showy plant found at the edges of woodlands and in meadows; these were growing in a meadow in Schenley Park. The flowers are golden yellow with black-headed stamens, and they are delicious to bumblebees.

    Bee leaving Senna

    Until the 1930s this was apparently regarded as a stout form of the generally smaller and more delicate Senna marilandica.

    Wild senna
    Senna hebecarpa
    Senna hebecarpa