Family: legumes (Fabaceae)
Flowering time: May–July
Size: 10–30 cm
Habitat: rocky meadows, forest edges and sunny woodlands on sun-exposed slopes
The prostrate or bulging stem of the needle-leaved trefoil (Coronilla vaginalis) is woody at the base. It is leafy with pinnate leaves, consisting of three to six pairs of leaflets. The leaves are bluish-green on both sides. Inflorescences at the tops of shoots usually form from four to eight bright yellow flowers. The flowers are small, 7 to 10 mm long. The four-angled hanging pods are long and narrow – threadlike. The needle-leaved trefoil occurs only in the western part of Slovenia; its distribution extends roughly to the middle of the country. It grows on calcareous soils on sunny sites.
