Ononis spinosa L.
Spiny Restharrow
Spiny restharrow is a low, shrubby native perennial of the pea family, distinguished from its sprawling relative common restharrow by its stiff, upright, often spiny stems. The woody base sends up branching shoots clothed in small, slightly sticky, three-parted leaves, and through high summer these bear showy pink to purplish pea flowers.
About
Spiny restharrow is a low, shrubby native perennial of the pea family, distinguished from its sprawling relative common restharrow by its stiff, upright, often spiny stems. The woody base sends up branching shoots clothed in small, slightly sticky, three-parted leaves, and through high summer these bear showy pink to purplish pea flowers. The tough, deep-rooted growth once snagged and halted harrows in the field, which is how it earned its name.
It is a plant of unimproved, infertile grassland on well-drained chalk or limestone, and occasionally heavy calcareous clay, favouring rougher, less heavily grazed swards in sun. In Britain it is most frequent in central and south-eastern England, scarcer westwards and northwards. Flowering from summer into early autumn, its nectar-rich blooms are popular with bees. A valuable, nitrogen-fixing component of calcareous meadow and grassland mixes on lime-rich soils.
Synonyms
Anonis spinosa · Bonaga spinosa · Ononis antiquorum maritima · Ononis arvensis spinosiformis · Ononis spinescens · Ononis spinosa latifolia · Ononis spinosa nitis · Ononis spinosiformis
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