Vicia cracca L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Fabaceae

• Scientific Name

  Vicia cracca L.

• Description

  Species Description - Trailing or climbing perennial to 1 m; lfls usually 5–11 pairs, linear to narrowly oblong, 1–3 cm, with few lateral veins leaving the midrib at a very narrow angle; stipules entire; racemes long-peduncled, dense, secund, equaling or exceeding the subtending lf, with 20–50 crowded blue (white) fls 8–13 mm; cal-tube oblique, gibbous at base, 2–3 mm, the upper lobes broadly triangular, 0.3–0.7 mm, the lowest linear-triangular, 1.3–2.5 mm; blade of the standard about as long as the claw; 2n=14, 28. Fields, roadsides, and meadows; native of Eurasia and possibly ne. N. Amer., widely naturalized in n. U.S. and s. Can., especially eastward, and found essentially throughout our range. June–Aug.

• Common Names

  bird vetch