Cow vetch
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Vicia cracca L.
Common name(s): cow vetch, bird vetch, tufted vetch, boreal vetch
Link(s): USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- early June
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- leaf detail
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- early flower
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- in flower, early June
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- flower detail
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- flower attachment differentiates it from V. villosa
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- late June
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- Seed pods
Description:
-perennial
-Flowers July-August on one side of inflorescence.
-Small hairs cover a slender trailing stem 2′-4′ long.
-Eight to 24 narrow, leaflets are 3/4″-1″ long and 1/8″ wide with a pair of tendrils at each leaf’s end.
-leaves are
- compound
- alternate
- entire
-Violet flowers are 1/2″ long, seed pods 3/4″-1″ long and 1/4″ wide producing five to eight seeds.
-fixes nitrogen
-may be confused with V. villosa; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-disturbed areas
-meadows
-fields
-full-part sun
Sources:
Go Botany. “Vicia Cracca L.” Vicia Cracca (Bird Vetch, Cow Vetch): Go Botany, 2020, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/vicia/cracca/.