Hedysarum hedysaroides (L.) Schinz & Thell.

A herb that keeps growing from year to year. It has a long thick taproot. The stems are 25-40 cm tall. These have 2 or 3 flowering branches. The leaves are compound with small leaflets in pairs. The leaflets are oval or sword shaped. The flowers are in one sided clusters at the tip of the leafy stems. The petals are lilac-violet and about 1 cm long. The flowering stems have bristly hairs. The fruit are flat pods and constricted between single seed sections.

Gravel river bars, roadsides, rocky hills and meadows, at elevations from 1,200-2,500 metres in the Alps. Mountain meadows in upper part of the forest zone

The roots can be baked, boiled or eaten fresh or frozen.

Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.