Onobrychis viciifolia

9.9

A plant with pale pink flowers and curved pods grown for animal feed and honey

noun

: Onobrychis viciifolia

Onobrychis viciifolia is prized by farmers for its high nutritional value as a forage crop.

Examples

Beekeepers favor fields of Onobrychis viciifolia for producing quality honey.
The Onobrychis viciifolia blooms beautifully in spring.
In calcareous grasslands, Onobrychis viciifolia provides essential food for livestock.
Farmers often plant Onobrychis viciifolia to improve soil quality.
Onobrychis viciifolia is prized by farmers for its high nutritional value as a forage crop.
Beekeepers favor fields of Onobrychis viciifolia for producing quality honey.
In calcareous grasslands, Onobrychis viciifolia provides essential food for livestock.

Synonyms

Onobrychis viciaefolia

vsOnobrychis viciifolia

9.9

A perennial plant with pale pink flowers and curved pods that people grow for animal feed and bee nectar

is primarily noted for use in Britain rather than wider regions

holy clover

vsOnobrychis viciifolia

9.9

A plant with pale pink flowers that farmers grow for animal feed and to attract bees

is mainly associated with Britain rather than wider regions

sainfoin

vsOnobrychis viciifolia

Specialized

9.9

A flowering plant that lives many years and farmers grow to feed animals and attract bees

notes the plant's curved pods and use mainly in Britain

sanfoin

vsOnobrychis viciifolia

9.9

A plant that lives for many years and is grown for animal feed and for bees

is used as both forage and honey source especially in Britain

esparcet

vsOnobrychis viciifolia

9.9

A small plant that lives for many years with pale pink pea flowers grown for animal feed and honey

is presented generally for forage and honey without soil specificity

Surface Forms

Onobrychis viciifolia singular

Onobrychis viciifolias plural

Morphology

Onobrychis + viciifolia

This is a scientific Latin binomial (genus + species) used as a technical plant name; its meaning relies on taxonomic convention and Latin morphology rather than ordinary English composition. A B1 learner who knows the genus label 'Onobrychis' as a plant group and has no knowledge of the Latin epithet 'viciifolia' (or of botanical naming) will not be able to derive the full meaning, so the expression is not transparently interpretable.

Etymology

Onobrychis viciifolia may come from old Greek words meaning 'donkey' and 'to eat', a picture of animals happily grazing on the plant. That image helps explain its use today as a forage crop farmers grow for livestock and for bees to make honey.