Generic Character.
Cal. 5-partitus: laciniis linearibus. Vexillum striatum. Legumen turgidum sessile. Filamenta connata absque fissura.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ONONIS fruticosa foliis sessilibus ternatis lanceolatis serratis, stipulis vaginalibus, pedunculis subtrifloris. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 653. Ait. Kew. 24.
ONONIS purpurea verna præcox frutescens, flore rubro amplo. Moris. Hist. 2. p. 170.
This charming little shrub, highly deserving of being more generally known, is a native of the South of France; and was cultivated here by Miller in 1748.
In favourable situations, it produces blossoms in great profusion during most of the Summer, and ripens seed in abundance: the situation it affects is dry and sandy, but it is a shrub by no means nice, as to soil or place of growth, and so hardy as to have borne the severity of last Winter, 1795, without injury.
In the collections about town we frequently find it in pots, kept with greenhouse plants.
It is said to vary with white flowers.