Vicia sativa
Common vetch Βίκος
Leguminaceae - pea family Dicot.
Vicia sativa
Common vetch Βίκος
Leguminaceae - pea family Dicot.
This is a pea plant which can be found scrambling through the grass in late spring and early summer. It is superficially similar to Pisum sativum but the plant is hairy and does not have a collar at branch points. The vicias can be distinguished from lathyrus, another group of scrambling peas, as it does not have winged stems. The leaves have 3-5 pairs of leaflets and terminate in a twisting branched tendrils, which support the rapidly growing stalk. The purple flowers are in clusters of 2-3. The vetches are all nitrogen fixers and contribute valuable nutrition to hay and silage.