Overview
Ornithopus perpusillus is a small, slender annual legume that sprawls flat across dry, open ground, with thread-like stems 2-12 inches (5-30 cm) long. The leaves are pinnate, made up of 7-13 pairs of tiny oval leaflets, giving a soft ferny look close to the soil. From late spring into summer it carries small clusters of three to six pea-like flowers, each about 0.15 inch (3-4 mm) long, creamy-white to pale pink and finely veined with red. A leaf-like bract sits just below each flower cluster. The flowers develop into slender, curved, beaded seed pods 0.4-0.8 inch (10-20 mm) long that constrict between the seeds and splay outward in a cluster, resembling the toes of a bird's foot and giving the plant its common name. As a legume it fixes nitrogen through root nodules and grows on poor sandy and gravelly soils where many plants struggle. It completes its life within one season, germinating in spring or autumn and dying after seeding. Its small size and ground-hugging habit make it easy to miss among grasses.
Native Range
Ornithopus perpusillus is native to western and central Europe, from Britain and Scandinavia south to the Mediterranean. It grows on dry, sandy, and gravelly open ground, heaths, commons, and bare acidic soils.Suggested Uses
Seldom cultivated, it appears in wildflower, heathland, and gravel plantings on dry acidic ground. As a legume it adds nitrogen to poor sandy soils. It supports small pollinating insects through summer.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height2" - 4"
Width/Spread4" - 1'
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
Creamy-white to pale pink, red-veinedFoliage Description
GreenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Water & Climate
Water Needs
Drought Tolerance
Drought tolerant when established