Common Restharrow
Ononis repens
Common Restharrow is a perennial subshrub with prostrate stems that often root at the nodes and typically lack spines or possess only soft ones. It is characterized by its glandular-sticky pubescence and distinctive pink pea-like flowers that grow individually in the leaf axils. The species prefers sunny, dry, and calcareous sites such as dry grasslands, embankments, or coastal dunes. As a member of the legume family, it lives in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing root nodule bacteria.
Details
Habitat function
Foraging habitat for wild bees; oviposition site for specialized butterflies.
Nutrient uptake
Uptake of nitrogen primarily through symbiosis with rhizobia in root nodules.
Food source for
Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus), restharrow moth, various bumblebees and solitary bees.
Human use
Root extracts are traditionally used as a diuretic for inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract.
Ecology
Ecological role
Nitrogen fixation in the soil; pioneer plant; important source of nectar and pollen for specialized insects.
Natural predators
Various insect larvae (blue butterflies), grazing livestock (occasionally browsed despite bitter substances).
Competitor species
Highly competitive tall grasses in cases of eutrophication or lack of habitat management.
Ecosystem service
Soil stabilization through creeping rhizomes, promotion of soil fertility through nitrogen fixation.
Threats
Intensification of agriculture, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, scrub encroachment of dry grasslands.
Scientific profile
Profile
Reproduction
Generative via seeds and vegetative via creeping, rooting stolons (rhizomes/stolons).
Protection & threats
Main threats
Eutrophication due to nitrogen deposition, abandonment of extensive grazing (scrub encroachment), conversion of nutrient-poor grasslands into arable land.