Onobrychis viciifolia, also known as O. sativa or common sainfoin has been an important forage legume in temperate regions until the 1950s. During the Green Revolution it was replaced by high yielding alfalfa and clover species. Due to its anthelmintic properties, common sainfoin is a natural alternative to drugs to control nematode parasitism in the guts of small ruminants. This is the main reason why O. viciifolia returned to the scientific agenda in recent years.
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.
The Piedmont anomalous blue is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to Italy, where it is known mostly from the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps. It is mainly found on altitudes of 800 to 1,000 meters but at times up to 1,600 meters.
Polyommatus dolus, the furry blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Spain, in France and Italy.
Clepsis senecionana, the rustic tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found from Europe to eastern Siberia.
The Osiris blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in South Europe, Asia Minor, southern Siberia, the Alay Mountains, Tian-Shan, Dzhungarsky Alatau, the Altai Region, the Sayan mountains, Lake Baikal and Mongolia. It is often confused with the small blue, a closely related species.
Polyommatus thersites, the Chapman's blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southern Europe, Morocco, Lebanon, Asia Minor, Iran and across the Palearctic to Siberia and Tian Shan.
Anthidium oblongatum, the oblong woolcarder bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter, carder, or mason bees.
Coleophora onobrychiella is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found from Sweden to the Pyrenees, Italy and Greece and from France to Romania. It is also found in China.
Coleophora ravillella is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in France, Spain and Italy.
Polyommatus (Agrodiaetus) fulgens is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the north and north-east of Spain.
Zygaena oxytropis is a species of moth in the Zygaenidae family. It is found in mainland Italy and on Sicily.
Adscita mannii is a moth of the family Zygaenidae. It is found in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and the Balkan Peninsula. The range extends to north-western Turkey.
Bembecia scopigera, the six-belted clearwing, is a moth of the family Sesiidae. It is found from central Spain over most of south-western and central Europe, the Balkans, Greece, southern Russia and Ukraine to Turkey.
Polyommatus admetus, the anomalous blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1783. It is found in south-eastern Europe and Turkey.
Polyommatus aroaniensis, the Grecian anomalous blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was described by John W. Brown in 1976. It is found on the Balkan Peninsula.
Gynaephora selenitica is a moth in the family Erebidae first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1789. It is found from central Europe through eastern Europe to the Urals and Ob' River in West Siberia. It is not found in western and southern Europe and Scandinavia.
Onobrychis venosa, veined sainfoin is a perennial, spreading or suberect herb 10–25 cm high, with a short stem. Leaves alternate, compound, imparipinnate, leaflets ovoid to suborbicular 10-40 x 5–30 mm with characteristic bronze venation, hairy only along margins. Zygomorphic flowers with yellow petals with conspicuous dark-red nerves in axillary racemes. Flowers from February to May. The fruit is a circular flattened hairy pod.
Orbexilum onobrychis, commonly called French-grass or lanceleaf scurfpea, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is native to the eastern United States where its range is concentrated in the Midwest and Upper South. Its natural habitat is primarily prairies and riverbanks, typically in mesic or wet areas. It is an uncommon species, and can be found in high-quality prairie remnants as well as more disturbed areas.
