Relatives
Onobrychis biebersteinii Sirj. - Bieberstein.s Sainfoin.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Onobrychis Mill.Synonyms.
Hedysarum confertum sensu M.Bieb., Onobrychis sativa sensu Ledeb., Onobrychis sativa Lam. var. montana (DC.) Boiss.Morphology and biology.
Perennial herbaceous plant. Stems 20-80 cm tall. All plant adpressedly, less often squarrosely hairy. Leaves with 5-8 pairs of broadly elliptic leaflets. Racemes oval or oblong, 4-6 cm long. Corolla purple. Fruit is a pod 6-8 mm long, semi-circular, densely adpressedly pubescent, its crest with 4-5 teeth. Flowers in June . July, fruits in July . August. Self-incompatible, cross-pollinated plant. 2n=28.Distribution.
Caucasus. Endemic.Ecology.
On herbaceous meadows, debris and stony slopes in upper mountain zone (up to 3000 m).Economic value.
Valuable forage plant. The species is a rough forage herb, but drought and cold-resistant plant, going high up to mountains. Slightly affected by root rot. Hay has a good chemical composition. Tests under cultivation are desirable.References:
Brezhnev DD., Korovina ON. 1981. Wild relatives of cultivated plants of the flora of the USSR. Leningrad: Kolos. 376 p. (In Russian).Galushko AI. 1980. Flora of the North Caucasus: Handbook. V.2. 352 p. (In Russian).
Grossheim AA. 1952. Flora of Caucasus. 2nd ed. V.5. P.358-376. (In Russian).
Grossheim AA. 1948. Sainfoin - Onobrychis Adans. In: Shishkin BK., Bobrov EG., eds. Flora URSS. V.13. P.319-367. (In Russian).