Is is a topical medication for the tender spot on your leg?
Is it an incantation that summons a miniature man in a little green robe, looking confused?
Is it a social mistake that makes girls instantly turn away from you?
No- it's a plant.
A very pretty little plant. Medium-size, maybe. Two feet.
Sainfoin- we shall call it Onobrychis viciifolia. And that "scientific" name means
"Vetch-leafed ass-gobble."
And by that, probaby meaning "Chowed-down-upon by donkeys."
It took me a while to identify, because it was overlooked in Colorado Flora: Western Slope, meant to identify any plants which occur here. But it was in Intermountain Flora. The wierd seeds proved that it was not a normal pea-family local.
I first saw it last year in a barren lot around Grand Junction's now long-empty institution I remember as a kid: "Gator's Restaurant" on the Southeast corner of the I-70 Business loop and 30 Roads.
A Bubblegum-pink bushy thing waved at me, blooming for a long time in a truly crisp vacant lot.
Ferengi-style seedpods of the Sainfoin. (Don't feel bad missing a Star-Trek reference)
It's not rare, and it's not native. It's a dryland-asian (Like all the good forage crops) used by rangeland managers in the same manner as its similarly-shaped relative: Alfalfa, Medicago sativa. (Also Asian and dry-growing)
What intrests me about it is this:
1. It's beautiful. Look at those striped banners. They are literally, botanically called banners.
2. It's tougher than heck. Look where it's growing.
3. It seems to rebloom or bloom for a long time.
Wow.
But, it could be a weed in a cultivated setting. Does anyone know? Hard to know for sure when it's not even in our local floristic books. Stay tuned, for this baby's going to get trialed as a showy landscape plant for the inirrigated landscape.
I'm not below growing something as common as alfalfa when it's this good.
2 comments:
Much more compact that it has been for us: it can grow nearly a yard tall in good soil with a bit of watering. I have seen acres of this in Montana and Canada--positively glowing this time of year. Timberline once grew it as "Astragalus sp." until someone pointed it out! I find it rarely lasts more than a few years in garden settings. It has never been weedy for me. There are many more gorgeous Onobrychis in Asia (notably O. cornuta--which I also grew for many years and miss terribly). I do love the striated flowers: see you later this week?
Brilliant. Thanks for the additional info- I look forward to learning more background like that from you tomorrow morning!
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