Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Ononis spinosa

Ononis spinosa

9.9
A plant from Europe and Asia with spiny stems and pink flowers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Ononis spinosa
  • Gardeners appreciate Ononis spinosa for its resilience and attractive pink flowers.

Examples

  • The Ononis spinosa thrives in dry, sandy soils.

  • The herbalist recommended a tea made from the roots of Ononis spinosa.

  • Ononis spinosa is commonly found growing along roadsides in much of Europe.

  • I found an Ononis spinosa plant in the garden.

  • Ononis spinosa is well known for its spiny stems and vibrant pink flowers.

  • Many farmers cultivate Ononis spinosa to help improve soil quality.

  • The presence of Ononis spinosa indicates that the soil is well-drained and suitable for growth.

Synonyms

restharrow
vsOnonis spinosa
  • UK
9.9

A European plant with tough roots and pink or purple flowers that grows in dry sandy soil

focuses on spiny stems and loose flower clusters rather than where it grows

Surface Forms

Ononis spinosa singular
Ononis spinosas plural

Morphology

Ononis + spinosa

This is a compositional botanical Latin binomial: the genus name Ononis plus the epithet spinosa (Latin ‘spiny’) yields the sense ‘spiny Ononis’/spiny restharrow. Because the epithet describes a visible property, a learner who knows both constituents can directly infer the meaning; botanical Latin binomials follow the same descriptive logic across languages.

Etymology

Ononis spinosa comes from old Greek and Latin words: Ononis may come from a Greek word for 'donkey' and also gave the English name 'restharrow' because the plant's deep roots could stop a plough, and spinosa means 'spiny'. So the name fits a tough, spiky plant often called 'spiny restharrow' today.