Image to followAI-generated illustrationOrnithopus sativus
Ornithopus sativus
FamilyGenus: Ornithopusnative in Germany
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4
Species
interact
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6
Interactions
documented
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1
Host relationships
Species
About this species
Ornithopus sativus is an introduced, established legume in Great Britain, favouring sunny, dry, poor acidic soils. It produces broad leaves on non-woody stems and reaches around 45 cm in height. The flowers appear in summer, from June to August.
Ecological network
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PollinationLarval host
Ecological significance
In Great Britain the species is introduced and established but is not listed as invasive. On the near continent, it occasionally appears as a casual escape, for example in Belgium, while records in Austria and Germany are considered doubtful and not established.
Annual cycle
Flowering occurs from June to August.
Standort & Merkmale
Light
Sonne
Moisture
Trocken
Soil
Schwachzehrer (Magerer Boden)
Flowering period
Jun – Aug
Soil reaction
Sauer (Säurezeiger)
Growth form
Krautige Pflanze
Woodiness
Nicht verholzt
Leaf type
Breitblättrig
Plant height
0.453 m
Morphological traits: TRY ID3 (CC BY 3.0) & TRY ID81 (CC BY)
Pflege & Anbau
Provide a site in full sun with a well-drained, lean, acidic soil. Water sparingly once the plant has established; no supplementary feeding is needed. It is adapted to impoverished ground and resents rich soils or heavy moisture.
Scientific profile
Ornithopus sativus is a herbaceous, non-woody broad-leaved plant belonging to the Fabaceae. It is a neophyte in Great Britain, where it has become introduced and established; its original range includes parts of Europe and Africa. The plant attains about 0.45 m in height and bears blooms from June to August. It is a species of full sun (Ellenberg L9) and warm indicators (T8), thriving on dry, acidic, nutrient-poor soils (moisture 1, reaction 3, nutrients 2) and tolerating only slight disturbance (severity 0.86). The root system associates with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Diaspores weigh approximately 3.27 mg. The earliest Central European records date to 1500, and the taxon is considered established in Britain.
Pollinators & visitors
3 Arten interagieren mit dieser Pflanze
Polyommatus fulgensPolyommatus humedasaeHesperia comma
Sources & data origin
•Interaktionsdaten via GloBI (CC-BY 4.0)
•Middleton-Welling_2020
•FloraWeb / BfN
•EIVE 1.0 — Dengler et al. (2023), DOI: 10.3897/VCS.98324 (CC BY 4.0)
•GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — GBIF Secretariat (2024), DOI: 10.15468/39omei (CC BY 4.0)
•TRY Categorical Traits (ID3) — Kattge et al. (2012), DOI: 10.17871/TRY.3 (CC BY 3.0)
•TRY Global Spectrum (ID81) — Díaz et al. (2016/2021), DOI: 10.17871/TRY.81 (CC BY)
•Checklist Alien Plants Belgium — Verloove F (2023), Botanic Garden Meise (CC BY 4.0)
•Govaerts R et al. (2025) — World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) v14. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. DOI: 10.34885/xs7h-ze42 (CC BY 4.0)
All data is licensed under CC BY 4.0, CC0, or compatible terms. Attribution according to license conditions. Full source overview →