Table of Contents
Is purple vetch edible?
American/Purple Vetch (Vicia americana) – perennial; fair flavor (top photo) Common/Garden Vetch or Winter Tares (Vicia sativa) – annual; seeds have fair flavor; leaves/shoots/pods edible; good forage crop used with cattle/horses; very good groundcover.
What Colour is vetch?
Vetch is a smooth, rounded and spherical seed. It has a black or mottled brown colour and is 4-5mm in length, which is similar to a pea seed. The cotyledon remains buried during germination. The first true leaves have one pair of narrow shaped, medium to long leaflets.
What is purple vetch used for?
Purple Vetch is an annual used for cover crops to produce nitrogen & organic matter and for forage. It produces faster cool season growth compared to common vetch. It can be good a choice to mix with other legumes and/or forage cereals or grasses.
What does cow vetch look like?
Cow vetch is a vibrant plant covered in bright purple, violet and lavender flowers. If gardeners consulted their reference book and looked under violet and blue pea-like flowers, they would discover their mystery vine was cow vetch or tufted vetch or bird vetch, Vicia cracca.
Is vetch edible for humans?
Most of the plant is edible and some species actually taste decent. Common vetch is one of the better ones. The young shoots are edible raw, but better cooked. Vetch is a pretty good potherb, if you go for the younger leaves.
Is common vetch toxic?
A reddish-purple plant with hairy stems (hence the name), this annual or biennial plant grows across 50 states and in moderate climates throughout the world. It is known to accumulate large amounts of nitrogen and cyanogenic glycosides, a highly dangerous toxin found in various plants.
Is common vetch edible for humans?
Most of the plant is edible and some species actually taste decent. Common vetch is one of the better ones. The young shoots are edible raw, but better cooked. They look like green beans and taste like them, too.
What is the difference between hairy vetch and common vetch?
They both have ferny foliage reminiscent of sweet peas with purple flowers that give way to small seed pods that look just like pea pods; however, they are non-edible. The main difference between the two species is size: hairy vetch grows as a sprawling mass about knee high, while common vetch can get waist high.
How do you identify vetch?
The leaves that are divided into 8 to 16 leaflets, the distinct stipule that occurs at the base of the leaf petiole, and the climbing or trailing growth habit are all characteristics that help to distinguish common vetch from most other weed species.
Is purple vetch the same as hairy vetch?
The purple flowers are very often hairy vetch. There are about 150 species of vetch, members of the pea family. About 25 vetch species are native to the United States but others have been imported from Europe or western Asia.
Is vetch a wild flower?
The common vetch (vicia sativa) is a native species of purple wildflower that flourishes in Britain and Europe. Also known as the ‘garden vetch’, it is a member of the pea family that grows up to 70 cm and flowers throughout June to August.
Is Crown vetch invasive?
It is currently reported as invasive in many states, especially through the center of the country and along the eastern seaboard. Biology and Spread: Crown vetch spreads through both seeds and rhizomes. The rhizomes can extend up to 10 feet, and an individual plant can cover 70 to 100 square feet within four years.
What kind of vetch do you use in Georgia?
Various species of vetch (hairy vetch, bigflower vetch, common vetch) are sometimes used in Georgia forage systems. Their viney stems support compound leaves with narrow leaflets. Species are generally most easily distinguished by flower color (hairy: purple; bigflower: yellow-white; common: white).
What can American vetch plant be used for?
Uses Crop : American vetch fixes nitrogen and can be grown as a cover preceding late spring-planted crops. Conservation : American vetch is a drought-tolerant climbing vine excellent for sunny and partially shady locations. It is a native plant and can be part of a wildlife seed mixture where native grasses and wildflowers are seeded together.
Where can I find a tufted vetch flower?
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.
Where does most of the world’s vetches come from?
In 2017, global production of vetches was 920,537 tonnes. That year, 560,077 acreas were devoted to the cultivation of vetches in the world. Over 54% of that output came from Europe alone. Africa (17.8% of world total), Asia (15.6% of world total), Americas (10.6% of world total) and Oceania (1.8% of world total).