Horseshoe vetch - Hippocrepis comosa

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Horseshoe vetch - Hippocrepis comosa
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

The horseshoe vetch has clear, bright yellow flowers which provide nectar and pollen for insects, particularly bumble bees. The leaves are in narrow oblongs which are made up of paired leaflets. The flowers are followed by fruits that are twisted into a horseshoe shape, hence the name. The plant has a low-growing, prostrate habit and so can be used as groundcover in a garden with chalky soil. It is also a useful plant in a wildflower meadow.

Horseshoe vetch is the food plant for the caterpillars of several butterflies including dingy skipper, chalkhill blue, small blue and Adonis blue. However, none of these is very likely to occur in gardens, other than those close to natural downland.

Animals

Bees and wasps, Butterflies

Foliage	Green
Flower	Yellow, May to July
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Full sun)
Origin	Native