Cross bottony

Cross bottony on a shield

In heraldry, bottony refers to a symbol having a bud or button, or a kind of trefoil, at the end; furnished with knobs or buttons. Hence, a cross bottony (or "botonny") is a cross having each arm terminating in three rounded lobes, forming a sort of trefoil. From the religious point of view, the cross bottony can be used as a symbol of the Christian Trinity.

A cross bottony which is heraldically "counterchanged" occurs on the flag of Maryland.

[edit] References

1. This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.
2. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. 1913.