Ononis campestris W.D.J.Koch

Perennial shrub; stems moderately to densely hairy, erect or ascending, with simple, scattered spines; spines up to 20 mm long. Lvs sparsely to densely clothed in glandular hairs; petioles 1–5–(10) mm long; leaflets 1 or 3, elliptic-oblong to obovate, usually obtuse, mucronate, obtuse at base, serrate, uniform in colour, c. 5–30 mm long; terminal petiolule up to 5 mm long; lateral petiolules < 1 mm long; stipules ovate, acute, serrate. Fls solitary in lf axils; pedicels c. 2 mm long. Calyx hairy; calyx teeth ± equal, narrowly triangular, 2–4× as long as tube. Corolla pink or purple, 10–15 mm long, deciduous after flowering; wings < keel. Pod hairy, ovoid, straight, 5–8 mm long, usually 2-seeded; seeds rounded, tuberculate, 2–3 mm long.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]

Flowering: Jan.–Mar.