Description
Ononis – Restharrow –
There are about 75 species of annuals, perennial, and dwarf shrubs in this genus. They occur in dry, rocky sites or in grassland, often in alkaline soil, in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and from Northern Africa to Iran. They have alternate, 3 palmate or simple usually toothed and hairy, clover like, mostly mid green leaves, and are grown for their pea like flowers, borne in panicles, or racemes in summer. Grow in a rock garden, wall, or sunny bank, or at the front of a mixed or shrub border, O. repens is a source of food for the common blue butterfly, and is best sited in a wild garden, due to spreading underground runners.
Grow in a warm, sunny position in moderately fertile, well drained soil. They may be short lived.
Prone to spider mites.
O. fruticosa – Shrubby restharrow – This short lived, deciduous shrub from Southeastern France, Central Pyrenees, and Central and Eastern Spain grows 24″ tall and 2-3′ feet wide. It produces 3 palmate, leathery leaves, 1 ½” long, composed of leaflets that are oblong-lance shaped, and unevenly toothed. Over long periods in summer it bears nodding clusters, 2-3″ long, of pea like pink flowers, each to 3/4″ long, with dark central markings and paler wings.
Zones 7-10
