English

Hedysarum alpinum

Noun

sweetvetch ‎(plural sweetvetches)

1. Any of the flowering plants of genus Hedysarum.
   • 1990, Stanley L. Welsh, David B. Williams, Grand Views of Canyon Country: A Driving Guide, page 30,

     In general aspect of foliage and flowers, the sweetvetches resemble the milkvetches and locoweeds. The short wing petals and abruptly angled keel petals are diagnostic features which distinguish the sweetvetches in flower.

   • 1995, David R. Butler, Zoogeomorphology: Animals as Geomorphic Agents, page 68,

     In this environment, glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) bulbs (Butler 1992; and yellow sweetvetch (Hedysarum sulphurescens) roots are major food sources.

   • 2013, Kevin Van Tighem, Bears: Without Fear, page 204,

     There, where snow has melted away from last year's brown, matted grasses, their sensitive noses sniff out the odour of sweetvetch roots, glacier lily bulbs and other buried treasures.

Derived terms

See also

• indian potato