#40. Vetch

American vetch, Scientific Name: Vicia americana

Common Local Vetches:

Vicia americana (11K): American Vetch, 4-6 flowers.

Vicia sativa (34K) : Common Vetch, 1-2 flowers.

Vicia villosa (26K) : Annual Cow Vetch, 12-20 flowers.

Family Name:

Pea Family

Habitat:

Open places, disturbed areas, meadows.

Characteristics:

1. Pinnately compound leaves with 8 to 18 leaflets.

2. 2-20 small, irregular pea flowers at tip of stems. Flower color ranges from bluish to rose and purple.

3. Snakey tendrils at tips of leaves wrap around other plants & allow the vetch to climb up and carpet other meadow plants.

Uses or Importances:

1. The Vicia species of vetch are used as feed for livestock.

2. The Astragalus species of vetch (known as milkvetches), mostly found east of the Cascade Mt. range are toxic to any that eat them as they concentrate alkaloids in their tissues.

3. Most Willamette Valley species are european weeds.