Small restharrow
Ononis minutissima
Family · Fabaceae · Harmless
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The dwarf restharrow of limestone, a woody sticky tuft a few centimetres tall with yellow flowers streaked red. It grows between stones where almost nothing else manages.
Uplands · Scrubland · Fields and pasture
Also known astiny restharrow
How to tell it
A very small subshrub, ten to thirty centimetres, spineless, unlike spiny restharrow. Leaves of three small toothed leaflets, with glands making it slightly sticky and scented. Solitary yellow flowers, seven to twelve millimetres, with reddish veins on the standard. Range: mainly a Spanish plant, practically absent from Portugal.
What it is confused with
Spiny restharrow
Ononis spinosa
Spiny restharrow has stiff spines on its branches and pink flowers; this has no spines at all and yellow flowers. Neither harms, but the spiny one goes through a boot.
What it is for
No use
Good for recognising the genus where spiny restharrow does not reach: the same pea flower and the same glandular scent, but spineless and in miniature.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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