Vicia cracca

Herbs perennial. Stems sprawl­ing or climbing, slender to robust, to 20 dm. Leaves 2–8 cm; tendrils usually branched; stipules foliose, semisagittate, without nectariferous patch; leaflets 10–28, blades narrowly oblong or elliptic to linear, 10–25 × 2–8 mm, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrate to pilose. Inflorescences 10–50-flowered, 4–20 cm, equal to or longer than subtending leaf rachis. Flowers 8–16 mm; calyx base symmetric to slightly gibbous, lobes unequal, pilose, lateral ones equal to tube; corolla usually blue-violet or purple, sometimes lilac or whitish, banner pandurate, blade equal to or longer than claw, glabrous; style compressed adaxially, pubescent apically. Legumes tawny, broadly oblong, 15–30 × 6–8 mm, oblique-tipped, glabrous; stipe to 1.5 mm. Seeds 4–8, dark grayish to purplish brown, some­times mottled purple, globose to ellipsoid-ovoid, 2.5–4 mm diam.; hilum encircling 1/5–1/3 circumference of seed. 2n = 12, 14, 21, 22, 28.

Distribution

North America, Eurasia, introduced in South America, Australia.

Discussion

Varieties ca. 5 (2 in the flora).

Vicia cracca is part of a European species complex (P. W. Ball 1968) and may or may not be native to North America (F. J. Hermann 1960); it is distinguished from the similar V. villosa by a symmetric calyx base and banner blade length equal to claw.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Vicia cracca var. angustissima, Vicia cracca var. cracca

Key

1	Leaflet blades elliptic to oblong; inflorescences 20–50-flowered, 1–1.5 times length of subtending leaf rachis; flowers 8–12 mm, banner blades ca. equal to claw.	Vicia cracca var. cracca
1	Leaflet blades linear; inflorescences 10–25-flowered, to 2 times length of subtending leaf rachis; flowers 12–16 mm, banner blade 2 times length of claw.	Vicia cracca var. angustissima