About Ononis rotundifolia L.
Ononis rotundifolia L. reaches an average height of 20 to 60 centimetres (7.9 to 23.6 inches), with a maximum recorded height of 150 centimetres (59 inches). Both its stems and leaves are slightly hairy and sticky. Its leaves are made up of three irregularly toothed, almost rounded leaflets; this leaflet shape gives the species its specific Latin name rotundifolia. The median leaflet on each leaf has a long petiole. This plant produces clusters of two or three pink flowers that are streaked with red. Each flower is roughly 15 to 18 millimetres (0.59 to 0.71 inches) wide. Its flowering season runs from June through September. This species is grown as an ornamental plant. It is a quite rare north-western Mediterranean shrub, found in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and Spain, growing mainly in the Alps, the Cevennes and the Pyrenees. These plants prefer calcareous soils located in dry grasslands, rocky meadows, slopes and hillsides. They occur at altitudes between 800 and 1,800 metres (2,600 to 5,900 feet).
