Family |
Fabaceae
Onobrychis cornuta
(L.) Desv.
Onobrychis cornuta (L.) Desv.
First published in J. Bot. Agric. 3: 81 (1814).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 391, Pl. CLX, 1; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Low, bristly subshrub forming flattened cushions of tangled branches, rarely 20 cm tall. Numerous flower stalks become rigid spines, whether fertile or sterile.
Leaves: Short, pinnate leaves with two to four pairs of leaflets and a terminal leaflet, far exceeded by the spines; membranous stipules are partly united.
Inflorescence & flowers: Few flowers on each fertile stalk. The vivid purplish-pink corolla is 10–15 mm long, two to three times the hairy calyx; standard and keel are nearly equal, with slightly shorter wings.
Fruit: Slightly hairy, unarmed pod, 6–8 mm long, with a straight dorsal edge, a semicircular ventral edge and shallow pits on its faces.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering May–July.
Habitat & elevation: Mountains, growing with other spiny cushion plants.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Jabal Kneisse, Nebaa el Hadid, Sannine, Sannine–Makmel, Jourd Tannourine, Hasroun, Hadeth, Dimane–Yammoune, above Sir ed Denniye, the Cedars, Foum el Mizhab, Makmel, Ehden and its forest, the base of Qornet el Sawda, Aayoun Orghouch and Hermon.
Syrian distribution: Bloudan and southern Hermon.
Native range: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Türkiye.