Sirhowy Hill Woodlands

Scientific name: Vicia cracca

Tufted Vetch

Tufted Vetch, also known as ‘Cow Vetch’ or ‘Bird Vetch’, is a member of the pea and clover family (legumes). It lives happily in many different habitats including woodland edges, scrubland, coastal margins and grassland, and can be seen climbing over hedges and banks. The spikes of bluish-violet flowers appear between June and August.

“Vicia cracca 152401838” by Eleftherios Katsillis, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0.

How to identify?

Tufted Vetch has long, grey-green leaves that grow in a symmetrical row from long, trailing stems. Curled tendrils used for climbing and grasping often spiral from the ends. Its flowers are pinky-purple tube shapes that turn up into a hood at the end and grow in dense clusters along a spike.

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Scientific Name

Vicia cracca

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