Slender vetch
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated April 2019.
Scientific name: Vicia tetrasperma (L.) Schreb.
Common name(s): slender vetch, lentil vetch, sparrow vetch, smooth vetch, smooth tare, four seeded 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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- in flower, mid-June
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- developing seed pod, early July
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- flower, early July
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- early July, flowers and seed pods
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- flowers/seed pods are single or in pairs
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- seed pod, mid-July
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- pods contain 4 seeds
Description:
-annual
-herbaceous vine
-leaves are
- pinnately compound
- alternate
- 4-10 leaflets
- oblong to narrow elliptic
-can grow to a height of 60 cm
-uses foliar tendrils to climb
-Most similar to Vicia tetrasperma is V. hirsuta, which has more leaflets per leaf (12-16)
Habitat:
-open sites
-woods
-meadows and fields
-roadsides
Natural History:
-native to Europe
Sources:
Burnham, Robyn J. “Vicia Tetrasperma.” CLIMBERS, University of Michigan, 29 July 2013, climbers.lsa.umich.edu/?p=327.