Ononis minutissima

Ononis minutissima is a small, woody-based perennial subshrub of the legume family reaching 15-40 cm in height. Stems are slender, ascending, and minutely glandular-pubescent, branching from a tough rootstock. Leaves are trifoliolate with narrow, oblanceolate leaflets 5-10 mm long, finely serrate at the apex, and bearing small stipules adnate to the petiole. Bright yellow papilionaceous flowers, 8-12 mm long, are borne singly or in pairs in the upper leaf axils on short pedicels. The calyx is tubular with linear-lanceolate lobes, and the standard petal is often faintly veined with reddish lines. Fruits are short, oblong legumes containing 1-3 small reniform seeds. Native to dry calcareous slopes, garrigue, and open pinewoods of the western Mediterranean basin, it flowers in late spring through early summer.