Onobrychis Fallax

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''Onobrychis'', the sainfoins, are a genus of Eurasian perennial herbaceous plants of the legume family (Fabaceae). About 206 species are presently accepted. The Flora Europaea lists 23 species of ''Onobrychis''; the main centre of diversity extends from Central Asia to Iran, with 56 species – 27 of which are endemic – in the latter country alone. '' O. viciifolia'' is naturalized throughout many countries in Europe and North America grasslands on calcareous soils.

Description

The leaves are pinnate, alternate, with 6 to 14 pairs of oblong to linear leaflets. Sainfoins have pale pink flowers, typically blooming between June and September and pollinated by honey bees and solitary bees. The rounded single-seeded pods bear prominent spikes or similar protrusions in many species, enabling them to cling to the fur of large mammals and be thus distributed.

Taxonomy

List of species

The following species are considered at least provisionally valid by the International Legume Database & Information Service; some notable subspecies are also listed:

* '' Onobrychis acaulis'' Bornm.
* '' Onobrychis aequidentata'' (Sm.) d'Urv.
* '' Onobrychis afghanica'' Sirj. & Rech.f.
* '' Onobrychis alatavica'' Bajtenov
* ''Onobrychis alba'' (Waldst. & Kit.) Desv.
** ''Onobrychis alba'' ssp. ''calcarea'' (Vandas) P.W.Ball
* '' Onobrychis aliacmonia'' Rech.f.
* '' Onobrychis altissima'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis alyassinicus'' Parsa
* ''Onobrychis amoena'' Popov & Vved.
* '' Onobrychis andalanica'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis angustifolia'' Chinth. (= ''O. petrae sensu auct. fl. Cauc.'')
* ''Onobrychis arenaria'' (Kit.) DC.
** ''Onobrychis arenaria'' ssp. ''arenaria'' (= ''O. tanaitica'' Spreng., ''O. viciifolia sensu auct. fl. Ross.'')
** ''Onobrychis arenaria'' ssp. ''sibirica'' (Besser) P.W.Ball (= ''O. tanaitica'' ''sensu auct. non'' Spreng.)
** ''Onobrychis arenaria'' ssp. ''tommasinii'' (Jord.) Asch. & Graebn.
* '' Onobrychis argyrea'' Boiss. (= ''O. ornata'')
* '' Onobrychis arnacantha'' Boiss.
* '' Onobrychis atropatana'' Boiss. (=? ''O. heterophylla'' ''sensu'' Trautv.)
* ''Onobrychis aucheri'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis baldshuanica'' Sirj.
* '' Onobrychis bertiscea'' Sirj. & Rech.f.
* '' Onobrychis bicornis'' Vassilcz. (validity requires confirmation)
* '' Onobrychis biebersteinii'' Sirj. (= ''O. sativa'' ''sensu'' Ledeb.)
* '' Onobrychis bobrovii'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis buhseana'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis "buhseana"'' Bunge (validity requires confirmation)
* '' Onobrychis bungei'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis cadevallii'' Jahand. ''et al.''
* ''Onobrychis caput-galli'' (L.) Lam. Cock's Head
* ''Onobrychis chorassanica'' Boiss. (= ''O. circinnata'' ''sensu auct. fl. As. Med. non'' Ledeb., ''O. radiata sensu auct. fl. As. Med., O. vaginalis sensu auct. fl. As. Med.'')
* ''Onobrychis conferta'' (Desf.) Desv.
** ''Onobrychis conferta'' ssp. ''hispanica'' (Sirj.) Guitt. & Kerguelen
* ''Onobrychis cornuta'' (L.) Desv.
* ''Onobrychis crista-galli'' (L.) Lam.
* ''Onobrychis cyri'' Grossh. (=? ''O. viciaefolia'' ''sensu'' Trautv.)
* ''Onobrychis daghestanica'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis darwasicaa'' Vassilcz.
* ''Onobrychis dealbata'' Stocks
* ''Onobrychis degenii'' Dorfl.
* ''Onobrychis depauperata'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis dielsii'' (Sirj.) Vassilcz.
* ''Onobrychis ebenoides'' Boiss. & Spruner
* ''Onobrychis echidna'' Lipsky
* ''Onobrychis elymaitiaca'' Boiss. & Hausskn.
* ''Onobrychis eubrychidea'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis fallax'' Freyn & Sint.
* ''Onobrychis ferganica'' (Sirj.) Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis freitagii'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis galegifolia'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis garinensis''
* ''Onobrychis gaubae'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis gontscharovii'' Vassilcz. (= ''O. lipskyi'' ''sensu auct. non'' Korovin)
* ''Onobrychis gracilis'' Besser (= ''O. longeaculeata'' (Pacz.) Wissjul., ''O. petrae'' ''sensu'' Besser)
* ''Onobrychis grandis'' Lipsky
* ''Onobrychis grossheimii'' B.Fedtsch.
* ''Onobrychis gypsicola'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis hajastana'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis hamata'' Vassilcz.
* ''Onobrychis haussknechtii'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis heliocarpa'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis heterophylla'' C.A.Mey.
* ''Onobrychis hohenackerana'' C.A.Mey.
* ''Onobrychis humilis'' (Loefl.) G.López
** ''Onobrychis humilis'' ssp. ''humilis''
** ''Onobrychis humilis'' ssp. ''matritensis'' (Boiss. & Reut.) Greuter & Burdet (= ''O. longeaculeata'' (Boiss.) Pau)
* ''Onobrychis hypargyrea'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis iberica'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis inermis'' Steven
* ''Onobrychis iranica'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis iranshahrii'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis jailae'' Czernova
* ''Onobrychis kabylica'' (Bornm.) Sirj.
* ''Onobrychis kachetica'' Boiss. & Buhse
* ''Onobrychis kemulariae'' Chinth. (= ''O. biebersteinii sensu auct. fl. Cauc.'')
* ''Onobrychis kermanensis'' (Sirj. & Rech.f.) Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis kluchorica'' Chinth.
* ''Onobrychis komarovii'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis kotschyana'' Fenzl
* ''Onobrychis lahidjanicus'' Parsa
* ''Onobrychis laxiflora'' Baker (=? ''O. schugnanica'')
* ''Onobrychis longipes'' Bunge
* ''Onobrychis lunata'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis luristanica'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis macrorrhiza'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis major'' (Boiss.) Hand.-Mazz.
* ''Onobrychis majorovii'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis mazanderanica'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis megalobotrys'' Aitch. & Hemsl. (= ''O. vaginalis'' ''sensu auct. non'' C.A.Mey. ''non fl. As. Med.'')
* ''Onobrychis megaloptera'' Kovalevsk. (=? ''O. chorassanica'' ''sensu'' Nikitina)
* ''Onobrychis megataphros'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis melanotricha'' Boiss. (=? ''O. belangeri'', =? ''O. linearis'')
* ''Onobrychis mermuelleri'' Podlech & Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis meschetica'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis michauxii'' DC.
* ''Onobrychis micrantha'' Schrenk
* ''Onobrychis microptera'' Baker
* ''Onobrychis montana'' DC.
* ''Onobrychis nemecii'' Sirj.
* ''Onobrychis nikitinii'' Orazm.
* ''Onobrychis novopokrovskii'' Vassilcz.
* ''Onobrychis nummularia'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis oxyodonta'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis oxyptera'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis oxytropoides'' Bunge
* ''Onobrychis pallasii'' (Willd.) M. Bieb.
* ''Onobrychis pallida'' Boiss. & Kotschy
* ''Onobrychis paucidentata'' Pomel (validity requires confirmation)
* ''Onobrychis persica'' Sirj. & Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis petraea'' (Willd.) Fisch.
* ''Onobrychis pindicola'' Hausskn.
* ''Onobrychis plantago'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis poikilantha'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis psoraleifolia'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis ptolemaica'' (Delile) DC.
* ''Onobrychis ptychophylla'' Sirj. & Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis pulchella'' Schrenk
* ''Onobrychis pyrenaica'' (Sennen) Sirj.
* ''Onobrychis radiata'' (Desf.) M.Bieb. (= ''O. circinata'' Ledeb.
* ''Onobrychis rechingerorum'' Per Wendelbo (botanist), Wendelbo
* ''Onobrychis reuteri'' Leresche
* ''Onobrychis ruprechtii'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis samanganica'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis saravschanica'' B.Fedtsch. (= ''O. amoena'' ''sensu auct. non'' Popov & Vved., ''O. baldshuanica'' ''sensu auct. non'' Sirj., ''O. baldzuanica'' Sirj., ''O. circinata'' ''sensu auct. non'' Ledeb. ''non fl. As. Med.'')
* ''Onobrychis sauzakensis'' Sirj. & Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis saxatilis'' (L.) Lam.
* ''Onobrychis schahuensis'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis schuschajensis'' O.D.Agajeva
* ''Onobrychis scrobiculata'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis sennenii'' Sirj.
* ''Onobrychis shahpurensis'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis sintenisii'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis sirdjanicus'' Parsa
* ''Onobrychis sojakii'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis sphaciotica'' Greuter
* ''Onobrychis spinosissima'' Baker
* ''Onobrychis splendida'' Rech.f. & Podlech
* ''Onobrychis stenorhiza'' DC.
* ''Onobrychis stewartii'' Baker
* ''Onobrychis subacaulis'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis subnitens'' Bornm.
* ''Onobrychis supina'' (Vill.) DC.
* ''Onobrychis susiana'' Nabelek
* ''Onobrychis szovitsii'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis talagonica'' Rech.f.
* ''Onobrychis tavernieraefolia'' Boiss.
* ''Onobrychis tesquicola'' Krytzka
* ''Onobrychis tournefortii'' (Willd.) Desv.
* ''Onobrychis transcaspica'' V.V.Nikitin
* ''Onobrychis transcaucasica'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis transsilvanica''
* ''Onobrychis vaginalis'' C.A.Mey.
* ''Onobrychis vassilczenkoi'' Grossh.
* ''Onobrychis verae'' Sirj. (= ''O. lipskyi'' Korovin)
* ''Onobrychis venosa'' (Desf).Desv.
* ''Onobrychis viciifolia'' Scop. (= ''O. sativa'' Lam.)
* ''Onobrychis wettsteinii'' Nabelek

Etymology

''Onobrychis'' means "devoured by donkeys", from Ancient Greek (, "donkey") and (, "to eat greedily"). This refers to sainfoin's good properties as a forage plant for large mammalian herbivores.

''Sainfoin'' is derived from Old French ("healthy hay"). In the words of the 16th-century soil scientist Olivier de Serres:

"The herb is called in France, in Italy , in Provence and the Languedoc . From the inordinate praise the plant has been given, for its medical virtues and for fattening the livestock that graze on it, comes the term ."''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.''

In northern European languages that have been less influenced by French language, French, the plants' name usually derives from , the Provençal (dialect), Provençal term for the similar-looking and closely related sweetvetches (''Hedysarum''). Examples are Danish language, Danish , Dutch language, Dutch , German language, German , Lithuanian language, Lithuanian , Polish language, Polish , Russian language, Russian ' () and Swedish language, Swedish . Meanwhile, the Occitan language, Occitan name of sainfoin, , has in many languages come to mean species of the related genus ''Medicago'', in particular Alfalfa (''M. sativa'').

The native name of the cock's head (''Onobrychis caput-galli, O. caput-galli'') is one of the few words of the extinct language, extinct Dacian language that have been recorded. The Dacians called this plant or .

Distribution and habitat

Sainfoins are mostly subtropical plants, but their range extends throughout Europe as far north as southern Sweden. These plants grow on grassland, agricultural land and :wikt:wasteland, wasteland.

Ecology

''Onobrychis'' species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, such as the case-bearer moth ''Coleophora colutella'' (recorded on ''Onobrychis saxatilis, O. saxatilis'') and the Damon Blue (''Polyommatus damon'') butterfly.

Uses

These highly nutritious plants were an important forage for heavy working horses in agriculture, and are still an excellent source of nectar for honey production as well as pollen for bee food. Because sainfoins are rich in tannins which protect proteins from hydrolysis in the rumen, the proteins are instead absorbed in the abomasum. ''Onobrychis'' typically have a deep taproot and so are very drought resistant, but do not recover well from overgrazing. Adapted to slow but steady growth in the arid steppe belt of Eurasia, sainfoins are difficult to establish as pasture, are not persistent in grassland, and only yield one crop of hay or seeds per year. Thus they are seldom grown in any significant extent, though ''Onobrychis viciifolia, O. viciifolia'' is met with somewhat more regularly.

Nutrition

Sainfoin provides a superb forage for grazing animals and voluntary intake of sainfoin by cattle and sheep is 20% higher than for grass. Unlike many other legumes, it is non-bloating and is known to have anthelmintic properties, so reducing the problems associated with livestock worms. Sainfoin contains condensed tannins, and it is these that protect animals against bloat. Sainfoin has also been shown to increase protein absorption. This, combined with its other health benefits, mean that animals grazing sainfoin have very rapid liveweight gains, so young stock can be finished sooner and with very good carcass grades. Sainfoin is therefore extremely useful to low input and organic farmers. Yields can be very high at around 16t DM per hectare.

Methods and research techniques have been studied and developed to look specifically at Sainfoin polyphenols which include tannins and flavonoids. There are significant differences between Sainfoin types and this will lead to further development of Sainfoin plant breeding.

One method for improving nitrogen utilisation by ruminants and reduce greenhouse gases (CH, NO), without altering their nitrogen and energy value, is to use forages that contain condensed tannins, such as sainfoin. The nutritional value, nutritive value of sainfoin, despite its lower nitrogen content than lucerne, is high. Future research, on the nutritional impact of condensed tannins is likely not only be based on condensed tannin content, but also include structure-activity considerations. The results obtained, with sheep at maintenance fed a diet containing only sainfoin will be tested with producing animals, for example growing sheep and cattle, lactating ewes, goats or cows. In producing animals the diet will comprise different forage sources and supplement feeds.

Sainfoin is seldom used as a pure crop and is generally introduced in pasture in a grass-legume mix with cocksfoot (''Dactylis''), ryegrass (''Lolium'') or with other legumes such as red clover, white clover or lucerne. Results have shown the choice of the variety is important. A variety like Esparcette, characterised by the highest condensed tannin content, may provide beneficial effects with a lower proportion in a mixture with other legumes. Preserving legumes, as silage, is a good way to provide an on-farm source of home-grown energy and protein, offers advantages over traditional haymaking, being less weather-dependent, and allows a high quality of forage during the harvesting period. In particular, wrapped silage bales of sainfoin have great potential in animal nutrition and can be used by farmers, as found that condensed tannin effects were not reduced by this mode of preservation.

In culture

In George Orwell's ''Coming Up for Air'', travelling salesman George Bowling regularly reminisces about the smell of sainfoin in his father's seed shop in Lower Binfield.

Footnotes

References

* International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005
Genus ''Onobrychis''
Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2009-JAN-26.
* Muẓaffariyān, Valī Allāh (1996) ''Farhang-i nāmhā-yi giyāhān-i Īrān: Lātīnī, Inglīsī, Fārsī'' ["A dictionary of Iranian plant names: Latin, English, Persian"]. Tehran: Farhang-i Muʻāṣir [in Persian with Latin and English names].
* Hayot Carbonero, C., Mueller-Harvey, I., Smith, L., Brown, T. A review of a beneficial forage, ''Plant Genetic Resources: Utilization and Characterization'' 2011, 9, 70–85.
* Stringano, E., Hayot Carbonero, C., Smith, L.M.J., Brown, R.H., Mueller-Harvey, I. Proanthocyanidin diversity in the EU 'Healthy Hay' sainfoin (''Onobrychis viciifolia'') germplasm collection ''Phytochemistry'' 2012, 77, 197–208.
* Niderkorn, V., Mueller-Harvey, I., Le Morvan, A., Aufrère, J. Synergistic effects of mixing cocksfoot and sainfoin on ''in vitro'' rumen fermentation. Role of condensed tannins. ''Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.'' 2012, 178, 48–56.
* Theodoridou, K., Aufrère, J., Andueza, D., Le Morvan, A., Picard, F., Stringano, E., Pourrat, J., Mueller-Harvey, I., Baumont, R. Effect of plant development during first and second growth cycle on chemical composition, condensed tannins and nutritive value of three sainfoin (''Onobrychis viciifolia'') varieties and Lucerne. ''Grass For. Sci.'' 2011, 66, 402–414.
* Theodoridou, K., Aufrère, J., Andueza, D., Pourrat, J., Le Morvan, A., Stringano, E., Mueller-Harvey, I., Baumont, R. Effects of condensed tannins in fresh sainfoin (''Onobrychis viciifolia'') on ''in vivo'' and ''in situ'' digestion in sheep ''Anim. Feed Sci. Technol.'' 2010, 160, 23–38.
* Stringano, E., Cramer, R., Hayes, W., Smith, C., Gibson, T., Mueller-Harvey, I. Deciphering the complexity of sainfoin (''Onobrychis viciifolia'') proanthocyanidins by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry with a judicious choice of isotope patterns and matrices. ''Anal. Chem.'' 2011, 83, 4147–4153.
* papers by M. Lorenz and P. Uden (Uppsala University)

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Hedysareae
Forages
Taxa named by Philip Miller
Fabaceae genera
Flora of the Palearctic realm