Foothills, montane. Roadsides. Summer, fall.
Hillside Drive, September 7, 2007.

Onobrychis vicifolia has attractive pink and white flowers, swaying at the end of tall stems.  It is an alien plant, not common in the Four Corners area, and was introduced to the United States, especially the West, for roadside stabilization and for fodder.  

Philip Miller named this genus; in 1753 Linnaeus named this species Hedysarum onobrychis from specimens collected in Siberia .  The plant was renamed Onobrychis vicifolia by Giovanni Scopoli in 1772.  Sain Foin (sometimes spelled as one word) is French for " healthy hay". "Onobrychis" is a Greek name for a now unknown plant; the name is perhaps derived from "onos", donkey, and "bruchein", to bray.  "Vicifolia" means "with leaves like those of vicia".

Foothills, montane. Roadsides. Summer, fall.
Hillside Drive, September 7, 2007.

Foothills, montane. Roadsides. Summer, fall.
Hillside Drive, September 7, 2007.