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Vicia villosa Roth

Hairy vetch

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderFabalesLegumes (pea and bean families)
FamilyFabaceaeLegume family (peas and beans)
GenusViciaClassical Latin name for this genus
SpeciesvillosaHairy

About plant names...

Hairy vetch is native to Europe and western Asia, introduced as a forage crop and now naturalized through much of North America. It is common in fields, roadsides, and waste places, dry black-soil prairies, grassy meadows, and riverbanks.

Plants: Up to 3′ (91 cm), hairy, with round, ridged stems that have white hairs. Plants are heavily branched, and equipped with tendrils to clamber over other plants.

Leaves: Stipules, little hairy projections at leaf bases, are less than ¼″ (6.3 mm) long. Leaves are compound, even pinnate, alternate, up to 10″ (25 cm) × 2″ (5 cm) Leaflets occur in groups of 8-20, and are narrowly oval or linear, hairy, and up to 1″ (2.5 cm) × ¼″ (6.3 mm).

Flowers: In groups of 5-30, densely packed into a one-sided raceme. Individual flowers are ½-¾″ (1.3-1.9 cm) long, with bilateral symmetry. The flowers are tubular, bi-colored—pink to blue-purple and white, with 5 petals. The tube-shaped calyx is swollen at its base, and hairy; flower stalks are also hairy. Flowers April to October.

Fruits: Fruits resemble small pea pods, ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) in length. Each pod contains 2-3 round, black seeds about ⅛″ (3 mm) in diameter.

These are closely similar:

 

Vicia villosa (hairy vetch)

Probably Vicia villosa ssp. villosa. · 7/7/2004 · By Kristian Peters

Vicia villosa (hairy vetch)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm)

Vicia villosa (hairy vetch)

Probably Vicia villosa ssp. villosa. · 7/7/2004 · By Kristian Peters

  You are here
Vicia villosa

Vicia cracca
Common Name

hairy vetch

cow vetch
Plant Up to 3′ (91 cm), hairy, with round, ridged stems that have white hairs. Plants are heavily branched, and equipped with tendrils to clamber over other plants. Up to 6½′ (2 m), clambering vinelike over other plants, though they are usually lower. They have smooth or slightly hairy stems. Small tendrils wrap themselves around available supports, sometimes choking other plants.
Flowers In groups of 5-30, densely packed into a one-sided raceme. Individual flowers are ½-¾″ (1.3-1.9 cm) long, with bilateral symmetry. The flowers are tubular, bi-colored—pink to blue-purple and white, with 5 petals. The tube-shaped calyx is swollen at its base, and hairy; flower stalks are also hairy. Flowers Apr-Oct. One-sided racemes with curled tips and densely spaced purple-blue to reddish-purple flowers. They appear from May-Aug.
Leaves Stipules, little hairy projections at leaf bases, are less than ¼″ (6.3 mm) long. Leaves are compound, even pinnate, alternate, up to 10″ (25 cm) × 2″ (5 cm) Leaflets occur in groups of 8-20, and are narrowly oval or linear, hairy, and up to 1″ (2.5 cm) × ¼″ (6.3 mm). Stipules, narrow leafy pointed appendages at leaf bases, are ¼-5/16″ (6.3-8.4 mm) long. Leaves are 1-3″ (3-8 cm) long, pinnate, with 5-12 pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are linear, with needlelike tips, ⅛-⅜″ (5-10 mm) long.
Fruit Fruits resemble small pea pods, ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) in length. Each pod contains 2-3 round, black seeds about ⅛″ (3 mm) in diameter. Seedpods look like miniature pea pods, about ⅜-⅞″ (1-2.5 cm) × ⅛″ (5 mm), with 2-8 seeds.
Range/ Zones

Habitats Fields, roadsides, and waste places, dry black-soil prairies, grassy meadows, and riverbanks. Meadows, grasslands, disturbed soils.
Type Wild Wild
Occurrence Common Common to invasive

 

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Minnesota Wildflowers

Missouriplants.com

Hort.purdue.edu

EFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 34

 

Vicia villosa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

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Vicia villosa (hairy vetch)

Probably Vicia villosa ssp. villosa. · 7/29/2023 · Hasswellgasse, Vienna-Floridsdorf, Austria · By Stefan Lefnaer

Vicia villosa (hairy vetch)

7/6/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm)

Vicia villosa (hairy vetch)

6/6/2016 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bea, Brookline, New Hamp­shire

Range:

About this map...