Ononis repens
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Speciesbox
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|taxon = Ononis repens
|authority = L.
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{{Commons}}
Ononis repens, the common restharrow, is a flowering plant species in the bean family Fabaceae. The name is synonym of Ononis spinosa subsp. procurrens.{{cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:510480-1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929034802/https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:510480-1|archive-date=29 September 2022|publisher=Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew|work=Plants of the World Online|title=Ononis repens L.|access-date=5 October 2024}}
Image:Common restharrow (Ononis repens) on a Lincolnshire roadside.jpg) in 2019. There is some sand on the leaves.]]
Image:Ononis repens (common restharrow) on a Lincolnshire roadside in 2019 2.jpg
Description
It is a prostrate (maximum height 60cm) woody perennial, spreading by rhizomes.{{cite web|url=https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.vpb|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518131319/https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.vpb|archive-date=18 May 2024|publisher=Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland|work=Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora|title=Common Restharrow {{!}} Ononis repens L.|editor1=P.A. Stroh|editor2=T. A. Humphrey|editor3=R.J. Burkmar|editor4=O.L. Pescott|editor5=D.B. Roy|editor6=K.J. Walker|access-date=5 October 2024}} It has hairy stems and small oval leaves with toothed edges. Leaflets are less than 3 times as long as wide. It occasionally has soft, weak spines, but never hard spines like those of Ononis spinosa.{{cite web|url=https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/common-restharrow|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422031021/https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/common-restharrow|archive-date=22 April 2024|work=Nature Spot|title=Common Restharrow - Ononis repens|access-date=5 October 2024}} The leaves are covered in glandular hairs which give a resinous smell on bruising. Plants are hermaphroditic.{{cite web|url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ononis+repens|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705173145/https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ononis+repens|archive-date=5 July 2024|work=Plants for a Future|title=Ononis repens - L.|access-date=5 October 2024}} The zygomorphic flowers are pink and unscented, 15–20mm, blooming from June to September.
Habitat and distribution
It is found by the sea shore, on cliffs and dunes and is also common in grasslands and dry hill pastures in chalk or limestone areas, over light, well-drained soils. It may occasionally grow on roadside verges or beside railways.{{cite web|url=https://www.first-nature.com/flowers/ononis-repens.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705200805/https://www.first-nature.com/flowers/ononis-repens.php|archive-date=5 July 2024|work=First Nature|title=Ononis repens - Common Restharrow|access-date=5 October 2024}}
The species is native to Europe including the UK and Ireland. Its distribution spreads as far south as Morocco and as far east as Poland. It has declined in some parts of Britain but populations are generally stable. Although the species is very widespread, its distribution is often localised, due to its preference for particular soil conditions
Ecology
A rare species of moth, Aplasta ononaria is specialised to lay its eggs only on common restharrow.{{cite web|url=https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/rest-harrow|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718184847/https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/rest-harrow|archive-date=18 July 2024|work=Butterfly Conservation|title=Rest Harrow {{!}} Aplasta ononaria|access-date=5 October 2024}}
Ononis repens is pollinated by bees.{{cite web|url=https://bwars.com/bee/melittidae/melitta-tricincta|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704072706/https://bwars.com/bee/melittidae/melitta-tricincta|archive-date=4 July 2024|work=Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society|title=Melitta tricincta Kirby,1802|access-date=5 October 2024}}
Like other species in the order Fabales, Ononis repens fixes nitrogen into soil from the air, promoting the growth of other plants.
Culinary use
Ononis repens is related to liquorice and its roots have a very similar flavour. A liquorice flavour drink can be made by soaking the roots in cold water, and historically the young shoots have been used as a vegetable, boiled or in salads.
Etymology
The English common name 'restharrow' comes from the plant's propensity to stop horse-drawn farming implements, with its hard, woody roots.{{cite web|url=https://www.nwt.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/common-restharrow|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626090632/https://www.nwt.org.uk/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/common-restharrow|archive-date=26 June 2019|work=Northumberland Wildlife Trust|title=Common restharrow {{!}} Scientific name: Ononis repens|access-date=5 October 2024}} The word 'ononis' or 'anonis' has been used for restharrow since classical Greece and Rome and has been suggested to stem from the Ancient Greek onos for donkey because it was used to feed donkeys.{{cite web|url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pmjtbqr5|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705195338/https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pmjtbqr5|archive-date=5 July 2024|work=Wellcome Collection|title=Ononis repens|access-date=5 October 2024}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kaN-hLL-3qEC&dq=ononis+latin&pg=PA1877|title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology|first=Umberto|last=Quattrocchi|publisher=CRC Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0849326776}} The species epithet repens is Latin for creeping, referring to the growth habit of the plant.
References
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Category:Flora of North Africa