Photographs: Barleycove, Co. Cork

Restharrow Ononis repens Fréamhacha tairne Family: Fabaceae Flowering time: June-September. Perennial. Native. Solitary pink/purple flowers grow on short stalks from the leaf axils and are followed by seedpod with 1-3 seeds. The alternate leaves have 1 or 3 oval, toothed leaflets and young shoots are sticky-hairy. Creeping or sprawling growth habit with branched stems that are woody at the base. Height/spread: 10-50cm Rough grassland, scrub, dunes and waste ground mainly in S, E Ireland Similar: Spiny Restharrow, O. spinosa. Very rare, Waterford and Dublin

Restharrow, Ononis repens, Fréamhacha tairne