sweetvetch

plural sweetvetches

1. Any of the flowering plants of genus Hedysarum.

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

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

   2 more examples

   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.

   1990, Stanley L. Welsh, David B. Williams, Grand Views of Canyon Country: A Driving Guide, page 30

   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.

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