ONONIS ORNITHOPODIOIDES

Family and Genus:- See- LEGUMINOSAE/Sect. NATRIX

Common Names:- Birdsfoot restharrow

Homotypic Synonyms:- Passaea ornithopoides.

Meaning:- Ononis (Gr) A classical name used by the Greek physician

Dioscorides.

Ornithopodioides (Gr) Bird-foot, like a bird's foot, (the arrangement of

the fruits or flowers).

General description:- Erect annual

Stems:-

1) 10-25 cm tall, ± glandular-pilose throughout.

Leaves:-

1) 3-foliolate or the upper sometimes 1-foliolate.

2) Leaflets, 10-15 mm, usually broadly elliptical, serrate at least in the upper half.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, lax.

2) Peduncle, 1- or 2-flowered, awned.

3) Calyx teeth, linear-setaceous, several times longer than the tube.

4) Corolla, 6-8 mm, somewhat shorter than the calyx, yellow.

Fruit:-

1) Legume, c. 20 x 2.5 mm, slightly curved, compressed, constricted between the

seeds, sparsely glandular-pilose.

2) Seeds, c. 1.5 mm, dark reddish-brown, tuberculate.

Key features:-

1) Stem, herbaceous.

2) Legume, slightly curved, compressed, constricted between the

seeds, sparsely glandular-pilose.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Sandy and rocky coastal habitats, dry open shrubby vegetation, open

coniferous woodland, roadsides, wasteground. 0-400(-700) m.

Distribution:- Widespread in the Mediterranean region, extending to Cyprus and W

Syria. Limited distribution on Crete, mainly around west and east coastal areas.

Flowering time:- Late Mar to May.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton