Peaflower Family:-

The Peaflower Family is "a large family with highly distinctive individual flowers; of the 5 petals, the broad and often erect upper one is known as the 'standard', the two narrower side ones as the 'wings', and the two central lower ones, which enfold the 10 bundled stamens, as the 'keel'. The seeds are in pod (legume) of varying size but usually in the general pattern of a garden pea or bean. Leaves mostly alternate, but the top pair sometimes almost opposite; usually stalked and trifoliate (trefoil) or pinnate, with stipules at their base." from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978.

Peaflower Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Peaflowers Wild Flower Family Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Black Medick

(Hop Clover, Nonsuch, Shamrock)

Medicago lupulina

April onwards

An annual or short-lived perennial herb of dry grassland and disturbed places on relatively infertile neutral or calcareous soils; often in sunny S.-facing pastures and on roadside banks, waste places and walls. Its has a long-lived seed bank. Generally lowland, but reaching 440 m at Nenthead (Cumberland).

Flower in June

Flowers from Kidwelly on 13 July

Foliage from Kidwelly on 13 July

Form in August

Flower Bud in June

Flower Buds

Foliage in June

Form in June

Broom

(Common Broom, Scotch Broom)

Sarothamnus scoparius

(Cytisus scoparius)

May-June

C. scoparius subsp. scoparius is an erect shrub of sandy acidic soils, on heaths, open woodland, railway banks, stony riversides and, particularly, on roadside banks and verges where it may often be planted. The prostrate subsp. maritimus grows on western sea-cliffs. Generally lowland, but reaching 640 m in Atholl (E. Perth).

Flower from Kynance Cove on 19 May

Flowers from Dungeness in Kent in June

Foliage from Kent on 14 May

Form from Dungeness in June

Bur Medick

Medicago minima

May-July

A winter-annual of dry, open, sandy or gravelly places; also occasionally found as a casual, introduced with wool shoddy. Lowland.

Flower from Bedgebury on 18 May

Flowers

Foliage from Bedgebury on 18 May

Form from Bedgebury on 18 May

Foliage in September

Seeds in September

Form in September

Common Melilot

(Ribbed Melilot, Yellow Melilot)

Melilotus officinalis

(Melilotus albus)

June Onwards

A biennial herb, widely naturalised on roadsides, field-borders and grassy banks, but also occurring as a casual on rubbish tips and waste ground. Lowland.

Form in July

Flowers in September

Flower Buds in September

Flower in September

Dyer's GreenWeed

(Genista, Woad Waxen)

Genista tinctoria

June-August

A small deciduous shrub of rough pastures, old meadows, grassy heaths, cliffs, road verges and field edges on heavy soils, usually calcareous to slightly acidic clays. Lowland.

Flower from Kynance Cove on 19 May

Flowers

Foliage from Kynance Cove in Cornwall on 25 May

Form near Tonbridge in Kent on 15 July

Flower Buds from Kynance Cove on 19 May

Flower Buds from Kynance Cove on 19 May

Foliage from Kynance Cove on Lizard Peninsula on 19 May

Foliage near Tonbridge in Kent on 15 July

Fenugreek

Trigonella ornithopodiodes

(Trifolium ornithopodioides, Trigonella foenum-graecum)

June-July

An annual which grows on rubbish tips and waste ground, where it arises from bird-seed and spice. Lowland.

Flower from Kent on 31 May

Flowers from Pagham on 30 May

Juvenile Foliage from Kent on 31 May

Form from Pagham in Sussex on 29 May

Flowers

Foliage from Pagham on 29 May

Mature Foliage from Pagham on 30 May

Golden Melilot

(Tall Yellow Sweetclover, Yellow Medick)

Melilotus altissima

(Melilotus altissimus)

June-August

A biennial or short-lived perennial herb occurring in disturbed grassland and on roadsides, field-borders and waste places. Lowland.

Flowers in August

Flower in August

Flowers in August

Flower Buds

Form in August

Gorse

Ulex europaeus

April-June

A shrub of mildly acidic soils, including leached soils on chalk and limestone, and acidic sands and gravels. It occurs in under-grazed pastures, woodland rides, on sea-cliffs and sand dunes, and on waste ground and railways. It is sometimes planted as hedges or game-shelter, and on roadsides. Generally lowland, but reaching 640 m on Carnedd Dafydd (Caerns.).

Flower from Fishguard on 14 July

Flowers

Foliage

Form on Dartmoor in May

Hairy Greenweed

Genista pilosa

May-June

A low, usually prostrate, shrub growing mainly on rocky cliff-tops in maritime grassland or heath. It also grows in limestone grassland in Brecon, on rock ledges in the Cadair Idris range, and formerly on dry heaths in S. England. Generally lowland, but reaching 710 m on Cadair Idris (Merioneth).

Flower from Kynance Cove in Cornwall on 25 May

Flowers

Foliage from Kynance Cove on 25 May

Form from Kynance Cove on 25 May

Lesser Gorse

(Dwarf Furze, Dwarf Gorse, Small Furze)

Ulex minor

July onwards

A small, sometimes procumbent shrub of heaths on free-draining acidic, nutrient-poor soils over podsolised sands and gravels, and occasionally over superficial deposits overlying chalk. In heathland areas it can persist as an under-storey shrub in scrub and secondary woodland. It also occurs on undergrazed heathy pastures and, rarely, on wet heaths. Lowland.

Flower from Frant in September

Flowers from Frant on 21 September

Foliage from Frant on 21 September

Form from Frant on 12 September

Lucerne

(Alfalfa)

Medicago sativa

(Medicago sativa subsp. sativa)

June onwards

A deep-rooted perennial herb naturalised on field margins, tracksides, rough grassland and waste ground. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Flowers

Form in August

Flowers

Flower Buds

Flower Buds

Flower Buds

White Flowers

White Flower

Seed Pod from White Lucerne in Dartford

Seed Pod from White Lucerne in Dartford

Seed Pods from White Lucerne in Dartford

Petty Whin

(Needle Furze)

Genista anglica

May-July

A small spiny shrub, found in the lowlands on relatively humid grass heaths and around the drier fringes of bogs. In upland areas it occurs in heathy, damp, unimproved pastures. Predominantly lowland but reaching 730 m in Atholl (E. Perth).

Flower from Hothfield in Kent on 29 May

Flowers from Hothfield on 29 May

Foliage

Form

Rest-Harrow

(Common Restharrow)

Ononis repens

July-September

A rhizomatous perennial sub-shrub, widespread in grasslands on base-rich, well-drained, light soils, and also on calcareous boulder-clays. On the coast it occurs on sand dunes and shingle, and inland it is frequently a colonist of sandy or gravelly road verges. 0-365 m (Weardale, Co. Durham).

Flower

Flowers from Oxwich Burrows on 11 July

Flower from Oxwich Burrows on 11 July

Flower from Oxwich Burrows on 11 July

Form from Sandwich in Kent

Scottish Lupin

(Alaskan Lupin, Nootka Lupine)

Lupinus nootkatensis

May-July

A perennial herb, found on river shingles and river banks in mainland Scotland, and streamsides in Orkney and Shetland. It has also been deliberately planted at some sites to improve nitrogen-poor upland soils. Reproduction is by seed; it is often well-naturalised and can be locally abundant. 0-340 m (Spittal of Glenshee, E. Perth).

Flower

Flowers from Strath Glass on 19 June

Foliage

Form from Strath Glass on 19 June

Sickle Medick

(Yellow Medick)

Medicago falcata

(Medicago sativa subsp. falcata)

June onwards

A perennial herb of grassy heaths, sea-walls, roadsides and tracks, chiefly found on calcareous soils and sands. It is often confined to the rear of roadside verges as it is sensitive to mowing. Lowland.

Flower from Rochester

Flowers from Maidstone

Foliage

Form from Maidstone in Kent

Form from Rochester in Kent

Sickle Medick Varia

(Lucerne Hybrid, Sand Lucerne)

Medicago x varia

June onwards

An annual or perennial herb, arising as a fertile hybrid between M. sativa subsp. sativa and M. sativa subsp. falcata, which is now established in many grassy and sandy places. Hybrid seed from Germany, called `Grimm` Lucerne, is also grown as a fodder crop. Lowland.

Flower

Flower

Flowers

Form

Small-Flowered Melilot

(Small Melilot)

Melilotus indicus

(Melilotus parviflorus)

June-September

An annual usually occurring as a casual on waste ground and rubbish tips, and sometimes on cultivated ground. It is principally an alien of wool shoddy and bird-seed. Lowland

Small Rest-Harrow

Ononis reclinata

May-June and occasionally later

An annual of thin, dry, calcareous soils with a low organic content, especially on S.- or S.W.-facing coastal cliffs of limestone and, in Scotland, greywacke. In the Channel Islands it occurs in consolidated dune turf. Populations often fluctuate in size, sometimes very markedly. Lowland

Spiny Rest-Harrow

Ononis spinosa

July-September

A woody perennial of infertile calcareous grasslands on chalk, limestone and heavy calcareous clay soils. It also occurs on the coast in grazing marshes and on earthen sea-walls. Lowland.

Flowers

Form

Spotted Medick

Medicago arabica

April-September

A winter-annual of grassy places, often on light, sandy and gravelly soils, particularly near the coast. It grows as a weed in lawns and frequently occurred as a casual in fields manured with wool shoddy. It is able to persist as small plants in mown lawns, and can grow as very robust plants in nutrient-rich habitats. Lowland.

Flower from Borough Green on 30 April

Flowers in June

Form in June

Stem

Foliage from Borough Green on 30 April

Foliage from Borough Green on 30 April

Form in June

Toothed Medic

Medicago hispida

(Medicago polymorpha)

May-September

An annual found in open sandy and gravelly habitats by the coast. It occurs in short, open grassland on summer-parched banks and cliffs with other annuals, particularly in S.W. England. Inland, like other Medicago species, it occurs as a casual, especially with wool shoddy. Lowland.

Tree Lupin

Lupinus arboreus

May-August

A short-lived, semi-evergreen shrub, widely planted on sand dunes and (in Cornwall) on china-clay tips, where it can cover large areas by virtue of its copiously produced seed, which is long-lived. It also occurs on roadsides and railway banks and in waste places. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage in June

Form from Lydd in Kent on 29 May

Western Gorse

(Gallic Gorse)

Ulex gallii

July onwards

A shrub of heaths on infertile acidic soils, including leached soils overlying chalk and limestone; also found on sea-cliffs, in under-grazed or abandoned pastures, and on scrubby banks and waste ground. Generally lowland, but reaching 670 m in Macgillycuddy`s Reeks (S. Kerry).

White Melilot

Melilotus alba

(Melilotus albus, Melilotus officinalis ssp albus)

July onwards

An annual or biennial herb principally occurring as a casual on waste or disturbed ground, in railway sidings and by roadsides. Generally lowland, but reaching 335 m near Brassington (Derbys.).

Flower in August

Flower in August

Flowers in August

Form in August

Form from Shorne