Wikimedia Commons
Fabaceae
Horseshoe Vetch
Hippocrepis comosa
Chalk grassland heritage and lucky charms.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Genus
- Hippocrepis
- Native to
- Europe
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Summer
- Type
- herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 10–30 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- calcareous, well-drained, thin chalk or limestone
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 5–8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- The seed pods have horseshoe-shaped segments — 'Hippocrepis' literally means 'horse shoe' in Greek.
- It is the sole food plant of the Adonis Blue butterfly caterpillar, making it critical for conservation.
- Horseshoe vetch fixes atmospheric nitrogen through root nodule bacteria, enriching poor chalky soils.
- It only grows on calcareous (limestone or chalk) grasslands and vanishes from acidic soils.
- The plant forms low, spreading mats that help stabilize thin soils on steep chalk hillsides.
Color meanings
Yellow
good fortune