Dorycnium pentaphyllum

Sub-shrub of the Fabaceae family, widely spread around the Mediterranean basin, from the Iberian Peninsula to Greece and the coasts of Asia Minor. It colonizes dry grasslands, garrigues, sunny embankments, and roadsides, on calcareous or slightly acidic soils, always well-drained.

It forms a rounded, dense, and very branched bush, reaching 60 to 100 cm in height and often more in width, with a distinctly hemispherical habit in favorable conditions. The stems are thin, very numerous, pubescent, bearing compound leaves with five narrow, gray-green leaflets, giving the whole a fine and airy texture. The name pentaphyllum directly refers to these characteristic five leaflets.

The flowers are papilionaceous, cream-white to slightly pink, with the keel marked with pink or dark red, gathered in small terminal umbels that literally cover the bush in bloom. The pods, small and rounded, turn reddish-brown when mature.

In its natural habitat, flowering extends from May to July.

It requires full sun and perfectly drained soil, tolerates drought and summer heat without difficulty. Less hardy than some rock garden perennials, it appreciates winter protection in case of prolonged and wet frost.