Annual or perennial herbs or undershrubs, usually pubescent, hairs eglandular or glandular. Leaf 1-3-foliolate, rarely imparipinnately compound, more than 2 lateral pairs of leaflets; leaflets generally toothed; stipules mostly adnate to the petiole. Flowers axillary, 1-3, sessile or long-peduncled, or forming terminal racemes or spikes. Bracts and bracteoles minute or O. Calyx with 5 subequal teeth. Vexillum with a short claw. Keel beaked. Stamens monadelphous, alternate filaments dilated at the apex, anthers dimorphous. Ovary shortly stipitate, 2 or more ovuled, style glabrous, stigma terminal or subterminal. Fruit linear to oblong, inflated or torulose, seeds few to numerous, reniform.

A genus with about 80 species, distributed in Europe, Mediterranean regions, W. Asia and Ethiopia, locally represented by 2 species.

Lower Taxa

• Ononis antiquorum Linn.
• Ononis arvensis Linn.

Related Synonym(s):

• Ononis dicantha Sieb.ex Reichb. = Ononis antiquorum Linn.
• Ononis hircina Jacquin = Ononis arvensis Linn.
• Ononis spinosa L. = Ononis arvensis Linn.
• Ononis spinosa ssp. antiquorum (Linn.) Briq. = Ononis antiquorum Linn.