Bee-friendly wildflowers: the sainfoin

Wild bees, honey bees, and butterflies love the esparsette because it has a lot of nectar and pollen. That's why the esparsette – or as it's called in botany: Onobrychis – must not be missing from any bee meadow. On top of that, it looks great and is also very attractive to humans. The herbaceous plant blooms its pink flowers as early as May, making it one of the first wildflowers to bloom in meadows.

Sainfoin profile: history and occurrence

There are almost 130 different species of sainfoin in Europe, Asia and Africa. Sainfoins were cultivated long before humans had to worry about bees, as they make excellent fodder for horses and other livestock. Onobrychis, the botanical name of the sainfoin, means “eaten by donkeys” in ancient Greek! Even today, sainfoin is still used as livestock feed as it contains many vitamins and important amino acids.

Identify wildflowers: How to recognize the sainfoin

You can recognize the esparsette by the following characteristics: Depending on the soil quality, the esparsette reaches a height of about 30 to 90 centimeters. On its upright stem, you'll find pinnate leaves that are about 2 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide. The flowers grow in a cluster shape and are usually pink with darker stripes. Overall, the flower head is about 3 centimeters wide with flower stems that are 1 centimeter long. The esparsette is zygomorphic; that means its flowers are made up of two symmetrical halves.

PS: The Bee friendly Bee Seed Mix also contains the esparsette.