Seasonal Wild Flowers

Common Restharrow

Ononis repens

Fabaceae

June to September

It is found throughout the country but is patchy in parts of

the North, the Midlands and the far Southwest.

See the BSBI distribution map for Common Restharrow

It grows in calcareous grasslands, by coastal paths and

treated road verges, on dunes and shingle.

Common Restharrow is a native, nitrogen-fixing,

rhizomatous, clump-forming, perennial, herb or small

shrub, growing up to 60cm.

The flowers are pink and up to 2cm.

Standard and keel petals are pink and the wings are white.

Leaves are hairy and toothed.

Stems are hairy and tough - reputedly able to stop a

harrow during ploughing.

Small, densely hairy, greyish plants on sandy soil on

West Bay cliffs in Dorset, may be subsp. maritima

(picture 8).

Spiny Restharrow is on this website in July.

Common Restharrow, Heysham

Head, Lancs

Group of flowers

Single flower - unopen

Stamens and style

Open flower with bug

From above - white wing and pink keel petals

Toothed, glandular leaves

Maritime subspecies? West Bay, Dorset