Relatives
Onobrychis transcaucasica Grossh. - Transcaucasian Sainfoin.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Onobrychis Mill.Morphology and biology.
Perennial herbaceous plant. Stems 40-80 cm tall, squarrosely shortly pilose. Leaflets oblong-linear. Racemes crested before flowering. Corolla bright pink with yellow stripes. Pod semicircular, short, densely pubescent with 3-4 narrow teeth along crest. Flowers in June . July, fruits in July . August. Self-incompatible, cross-pollinated plant. 2n=28.Distribution.
Crimea, Caucasus.Ecology.
On dry herbaceous slopes and debris sites, sometimes in shrubberies. In the middle mountain zone at 1500-1800 m a.s.l.Economic value.
One of the earliest forage crops, cultivated in the Caucasus, less often in the European part of the former USSR, in Siberia and Central Asia. Has been cultivated about 1,000 years. Very valuable species, very high-yielding, drought-resistant.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).
Vassilyeva LI. 1987. Sainfoin - Onobrychis Mill. In: Fedorov AA., Tzvelev NN., eds. Flora of the European part of the USSR. V.6. P.93-98. (In Russian).
Grossheim AA. 1948. Sainfoin - Onobrychis Adans. In: Shishkin BK., Bobrov EG., eds. Flora URSS. V.13. P.319-367. (In Russian).