The Dull-Flowered Sweet Clover 

 or Alpine Sainfoin 



(HEDTSARUM OBSCURUM) 



THE Alpine Sainfoin is the only member of the sixteen 

 European species of Hedysarum (Sainfoin) that is found in 

 Switzerland. The plant consists of a thick, dense under- 

 ground stem which persists from year to year and serves as a 

 storehouse for food. Underground branches extend outward 

 from this in various directions and give rise to ascending 

 shoots bearing leaves and flowers. The short stalked leaves 

 bear eleven to nineteen leaflets which are arranged in pairs ; 

 the purple-red flowers occur in clusters. The flowers are visited 

 by bees on account of the honey they contain. By means 

 of a sort of catapult arrangement, which only goes off when 

 the bee settles on the flower, the body of the insect becomes 

 dusted with pollen and as the bee travels from flower to flower 

 pollination is effected. In the Western Alps a variety 

 of this plant with yellowish flowers is occasionally to be 

 found. The seed vessel of the Alpine Sainfoin is very 

 characteristic. It is not unlike an ordinary pea-pod, but is 

 smaller, more flattened, and divided into two or three oval 

 segments by constrictions. The plant is fairly abundant 

 between 5000 and 8000 feet, and flowers in July and August. 

 It is rare in meadows, but is found on the rocky borders of 



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