Crown Vetch - Securigera varia
Short to tall plant with spreading to erect stems. Leaves with 7 to 12 pairs of elliptical or oblong leaflets. Flowers pink, lilac, purple or bi-coloured, 10 to 15 mm, in heads of 10 to 20.
Many pairs of leaflets, usually pink flowers in umbels, may be whitish or purple
A photo of the whole plant, showing leaves as well as flowers
Grassy and waste places.
June to August.
Perennial. Once grown for fodder and now naturalised in places.
Uncommon. It is naturalised in scattered localities in Britain as far north as Aberdeen, but more frequent in the south.
Quite rare in Leicestershire and Rutland. It was not recorded in the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire.
In the current checklist (Jeeves 2011) it is listed as Alien; disturbed ground; rare
Graham Calow
Sapcote
28 August 2012
Graham Calow
Ketton Quarry
30 June 2011
Graham Calow
Jubilee Walk Leire
27 September 2013
Ron.stevens
Ketton Quarry NR
30 June 2011
Graham Calow
Jubilee Walk Leire
27 September 2013
Ron.stevens
Ketton Quarry NR
30 June 2011
Graham Calow
Sapcote
28 August 2012
Mark Skevington
Ketton Quarry
01 July 2012
Graham Calow
Ketton Quarry
30 June 2011
seeds
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
Enter a town or village to see local records
MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020
UK Map
Species profile
- Common names
- Crown Vetch
- Species group:
- flowering plant
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Fabales
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 19
- First record:
- 30/06/2011 (Calow, Graham)
- Last record:
- 31/08/2024 (Markham, Marian)
Total records by month
% of records within its species group
10km squares with records
The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.
In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.
Latest images
Latest records
Graham Calow
Ketton Quarry
30 June 2011
Graham Calow
Ketton Quarry
30 June 2011
Ron.stevens
Ketton Quarry NR
30 June 2011
Ron.stevens
Ketton Quarry NR
30 June 2011
Graham Calow
Sapcote
28 August 2012
Graham Calow
Sapcote
28 August 2012
Graham Calow
Jubilee Walk Leire
27 September 2013
Graham Calow
Jubilee Walk Leire
27 September 2013
Vetch Aphid
The Vetch Aphid (Megoura viciae) feeds on various species of vetch. The leaves at the tip of the shoot become crumpled and may be true galls. It is a large shiny green globular bodied aphid with black head, legs and antennae. It also has startling red eyes.