Ononis rotundifolia

The stem and the leaves are slightly hairy and sticky.

The leaves are composed of three irregularly toothed and almost rounded leaflets (hence the specific Latin name rotundifolia), the median one with a long petiole.

This plant bears clusters of two or three pink flowers streaked with red, about 15–18 millimetres (0.59–0.71 in) wide.

This quite rare north-western Mediterranean shrub occurs in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and Spain, mainly in the Alps, the Cevennes and the Pyrenees.

These plants prefer calcareous soils in dry grasslands, rocky meadows, slopes or hillsides.

Flowers of Ononis rotundifolia
Flowers of Ononis rotundifolia
Leaf of Ononis rotundifolia