Ornithopus perpusillus. Little white bird’s foot.
Life-form & Growth Form:
Therophyte. Annual. Little/ no vegetative spread.
Flowering period:
May to July.
Habitats:
Short, open grassland. Rock outcrops. Sand dunes. Bare earth within dry heathland. Drought-prone sunny banks. Mostly lowland, on free-draining acidic sands and gravel.
Threats:
Cessation of quarrying activities. Cessation of sand extraction works. Cessation of arable farming. A scarcity of past records indicates strongly that it has likely always been a rare species in Northern Ireland.
Static distribution map:
