Color It Yellow

Yellow-Mother Nature’s Favorite Color by Earl Plato

This article is dedicated to the color yellow. On our way home
from the Fort Erie Friendship Festival last year we saw two groups of yellow flowering plants. The first group were on both sides of Garrison Road. I knew what hey were - Birdsfoot Trefoil. You will find them on the roadsides of Greater Fort Erie from June to August. They are an attractive low-lying plants. The leaves are clover-like an the flowers are a bright yellow. Birdsfoot trefoil grows from 15cm to 60 cm high. They are an alien species from Europe. I had asked former area naturalist, Ernie Giles, about their name Ernie said, “ Examine one and you will see the slender pod base arrangement suggests a bird foot.” “What about trefoil? I enquired. The word means ‘Three parts.” Ernie again, “Look at the leaves.” I replied, “there are five not three! However, there are three clover-like leaves hence three and two more at the base. Check Peterson’s Flower Guide book and you see what we mean. Look for them this year. The second yellow plants on the byways of the rural part of town was the Golden ragwort but that’s another story.