Tufted vetch
Vicia cracca
Description
Cow Vetch is similar to a pea in growth habit, sending out noose-like branched tendrils from the tips of its leaves when it contacts another plant and securely fastens itself. This can cause "strangling" of smaller plants. An individual plant may reach a length (or height) of 2 m and its taproot may extend up to 1 m. The leaves are 3–8 cm long, pinnate, with 8–12 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet 5–10 mm long.
The plant is fast-growing and flowers prolifically, sending out 10 to 40 flowered one-sided racemes cascading pea-flower shaped purple to violet flowers from the leaf axil during its late spring to late summer flowering period. The flowers drop off and tiny bright green seed pods 10 - 20mm long,start to form. Cow Vetch is very similar to Hairy Vetch (V. villosa), but is distinguished from the latter by its smooth stem.
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/2/2a/2a5/2a5b8a31-143b-4b4d-8f08-42d0f8b14f56.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/4/40/405/405c0e5e-536c-4c23-b21a-1c45491c76ff.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/0/0c/0cc/0cc79bec-fbe1-4f99-94f4-fa646b0a7bf2.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/b/b1/b14/b144b054-d012-48c9-96a9-fdeb4dd9aa4c.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/9/9a/9a8/9a86e275-a839-4eec-9fde-e2e3dcc4d263.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/0/0d/0d0/0d0bd814-ebf8-464c-ab6b-f5acf830dbbc.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/e/eb/eb7/eb7f0897-7b2b-4cd0-994f-ff51ae818d05.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/1/1f/1f9/1f9647e1-89d9-48b9-8346-7201f4ed41a2.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/1/14/140/14091873-3fb6-4849-8e94-3ea219291f34.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/8/88/886/886a430b-04a6-4cd3-a7ad-c9780c055ff3.jpg)
![](https://static.catalog.farmis.lt/problems/7/7c/7cc/7cc871e2-3268-42b8-bcb2-665e22c255f8.jpg)