Sainfoin

(Orbexilum onobrychis)

 

   

 

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of Dan Busemeyer, Illinois Natural History Survey

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Sainfoin (Orbexilum onobrychis [Nutt.] Rydb.)

Identification: Flowers blue, pealike, arranged in a spike. Spike barely, if at all exceeding the height of the leaves. Seedpod short, bulging, and covered with wrinkles and small spines. Stem smooth. Leaves divided into 3 leaflets. Leaflets bulging at the bottom, tapering toward the apex. Plant 3 to 5 feet in height.

Distribution: Iowa in the west, eastward to Ohio and southward to Arkansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

Habitat: Sainfoin is found in open woods and in prairies.

Flowering period: June to July.

Similar Species: Sainfoin is similar to Sampson's Snakeroot. However the leaflets of Sampson's Snakeroot are much narrower and the flower stalks usually greatly exceed the tops of the leaves.

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