Sainfoin

Sainfoin

Taxobox
name = Sainfoin


image_width = 200px
image_caption = "Onobrychis viciifolia"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Fabales
familia = Fabaceae
subfamilia = Faboideae
tribus = Hedysareae
genus = "Onobrychis"

Sainfoins ("Onobrychis") are Eurasian perennial herbs that have pale pink flowers and round single-seeded pods (see image below). "O. viciifolia" is naturalized throughout many countries in Europe and North America grasslands on calcareous soils. The Flora Europaea lists 23 species of "Onobrychis".

This highly nutritious plant was an important forage for heavy working horses in agriculture and a good source of nectar for honey bees in Britain. Because the plant is rich in tannins which protect proteins from hydrolysis in the rumen, the proteins are instead absorbed in the abomasum. The plant has a deep taproot and so is very drought-resistant, but does not recover well from grazing.Sainfoin is difficult to establish, only yields one crop per year and is not persistent in grassland so is seldom grown in any significant acreage.

* Flowers: June-September.
* Distribution: grassland, cultivated land, waste places in throughout Europe as far north as southern Sweden.
* Leaves: pinnate, alternate, 6 to 14 pairs, oblong to linear.

A species, "Onobrychis caput-galli", is known as the "Cock's Head" in English (cf. Latin "caput galli").

"Onobrychis" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species including "Coleophora colutella" (recorded on "O. saxatilis").

Etymology

"Sainfoin" comes from French "sain foin": sane hay.

"XVIe s.— L'herbe appellée en France sain-foin, en Italie herba medica, en Provence et Languedoc luzerne. De l'excessive louange qu'on a donné à ceste plante, à cause de sa vertu medecinale et engraissante le bestail qui s'en paist, vient ce mot de sain (O. de Serres)"

"Onobrychis" comes from Greek "onos" (ass) and "brycho" (to eat greedily), referring to its properties as a forage plant.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sainfoin — [ sɛ̃fwɛ̃ ] n. m. • 1572; sainct foin 1549, par confus. de sain et saint; de 1. sain et foin ♦ Plante herbacée (papilionacées) aux fleurs rouges et aux gousses duveteuses, cultivée comme fourrage. « Le sainfoin fleuri saigne dessous les oliviers… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sainfoin — Sain foin (?; 277), n. [F., fr. sain wholesome (L. sanus; see {Sane}.) + foin hay (L. f[ae]num); or perh. fr. saint sacred (L. sanctus; see {Saint}) + foin hay.] (Bot.) (a) A leguminous plant ({Onobrychis sativa}) cultivated for fodder. [Written… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sainfoin — [sān′foin΄] n. [Fr < sain, wholesome (< L sanus, healthy, confused in Fr with saint) + foin (< L faenum), hay] a Eurasian perennial plant (Onobrychis viciaefolia) of the pea family, cultivated as a forage or cover crop …   English World dictionary

  • Sainfoin — Sainfoin …   Wikipédia en Français

  • sainfoin — (sin foin) s. m. Nom d un genre de la famille des légumineuses dans lequel on distingue le sainfoin cultivé, dit vulgairement sainfoin et esparcette. •   Onobrychis vient des mots grecs âne et je crie ; on dit que le sainfoin fait braire les ânes …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • SAINFOIN — s. m. Plante vivace, de la famille des Légumineuses, dont une espèce, nommée autrement Esparcette, est employée à former des prairies artificielles. Les sainfoins veulent un printemps pluvieux. Le sainfoin échauffe la bouche des chevaux. Cette… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • SAINFOIN — n. m. Plante vivace, de la famille des Légumineuses, dont une espèce, le sainfoin commun ou Esparcette, est employée à former des prairies artificielles …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

  • sainfoin — noun /ˈseɪnfɔɪn/ Perennial herbs of the genus Onobrychis with pale pink flowers, especially Onobrychis sativa. I saw a breath of wind emerge from the furthest horizon, bowing over the heads of corn in distant fields, pouring like a flood over all …   Wiktionary

  • sainfoin — sėjamasis esparcetas statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Pupinių šeimos medingas, dekoratyvinis, pašarinis augalas (Onobrychis viciifolia), paplitęs pietų Europoje ir pietvakarių Azijoje. atitikmenys: lot. Onobrychis viciifolia angl. esparcet;… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • sainfoin — esparcetas statusas T sritis augalininkystė apibrėžtis Priklauso pupinių (Fabaceae) šeimai. Lietuvoje auginami. atitikmenys: lot. Onobrychis angl. esparcette; sainfoin rus. эспарцет …   Žemės ūkio augalų selekcijos ir sėklininkystės terminų žodynas

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