XXV. LEGUMINACE.E : 



229 



GENUS IX. 



nn 



LJLJ 



ONO X NIS L. THE REST-HARROW. Lin. Si/st. Monadelphia Decandria. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 863. ; Lam. 111., t. 616. ; Dec. Prod , 2. p. 158. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 158. 

 Synonymcs. Jndnis and Matrix Mcench Me"th. 157. and 158. j Arrete-bceuf, or sometimes Bugrane, 



Fr. ; Hauhechel, Ger. 

 Derivation. Said to be from onos, an ass ; because only asses would feed upon so prickly a plant. 



Restharrow is a corruption of arrest, that is, stop, harrow ; from the long and deeply seated roots 



opposing a serious impediment to the plough or harrow. 



Gen. Char. Calyx campanulate, 5-cleft, with linear segments. Vexillum large, 

 striated. Stamens monadelphous, the tenth one sometimes almost free. 

 Legume usually turgid, sessile, few-seeded. (Don's Mill.) 



Leaves trifoliolate, stipulate, alternate, deciduous. Flowers yellow, pur- 

 plish and red, or rarely white. Shrubs, very low, suffruticose ; natives of 

 Europe. Two species are hardy. 



The peduncle is, in many instances, furnished with an awn, which is the 

 petiole of an abortive floral leaf. Tiie two specimens here described are well 

 adapted for rockwork or flower-borders, on account of their lively flowers, 

 which are red, or reddish purple; colours not frequently met with in the lig- 

 neous Leguminaceae, by far the greater part of which have yellow flowers. 

 They are readily propagated by seeds or by division, and 

 will grow in any soil that is tolerably dry. 



j* 1. O. FRUTICO V SA L. The shrubby Restharrow. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 1010. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 167. ; Don's Mill., 2 



p. 160. 

 Engravings. N. Du Ham., 1. t. 58.; Mill. Icon., t. 36. ; Bot. Mag".,t. 317 ; 



and our fig. 373. 



Spec. Char. y fyc. Leaves trifoliolate. Leaflets sessile, 

 lanceolate, serrated. Stipules connate into one, sheath- 

 ing, and 4-awned ; and, in the uppermost parts of the 

 plant, occupying the places of leaves which are absent. 

 Pedicels 3-flowered, disposed in a raceme. (Dec. Prod.) 

 A low shrub. Alps of Dauphine, &c. Height 1 ft. to 

 4* ft. Introduced in 1680. Flowers purplish red ; 

 May and June. Legume brown ; ripe in September. 



Variety. 



j* O. /. 2 microphylla Dec., O. fruticosa Asso. 

 Leaflets small, obovate, and serrated. Native of 

 the mountains of Aragon. S7S . . fni t, c6sft 



j* 2. O. ROTUNDIFO'LIA L. The round-leaved Restharrow. 



Identification. Lin. Sp. ed. 1. p. 719., but not ed. 2. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 161. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 160- 

 Synonymes. 0. latifdlia Asso Syn. 97., Lin. Mant. t. 11. f. 1. ; Mtrix rotundi folia Mcench. 

 Engravings. Jacq. Fl. Austr. Append., t. 49. ; Bot. Mag., t. 335. ; and our fig. 374. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves trifoliolate ; leaflets ovate, 

 and toothed. Peduncles 3-flowered, and with- 

 out bracteas. (Dec. Prod.) A low shrub. Native 

 of the Pyrenees, and the Alps. Height 1 ft. to 

 2 ft. Introduced in 1570. Flowers purplish red; 

 May to Sept. Legume brown ; ripe in October. 



Other Kinds of Ononis. O. tribractedta Dec., a 

 suffruticose plant with pink flowers, supposed to 

 be a native of Carinthia, differs little from O. ro- 

 tundifolia. Several other species are hardy, but 

 not sufficiently ligneous for our purpose. 



Q 3 





