Tufted Vetch - Vicia cracca

Description

Clambering plant to 2 metres though often less. Leaflets 6 to 15 linear to oblong. Flowers bluish violet, 10 to 12 mm in a one sided, long stalked raceme.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Rough grassy places, roadside verges, etc.

When to see it

June to August, sometimes later.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Common throughout most of Britain.

VC55 Status

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 474 of the 617 tetrads.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Tufted Vetch
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
265
First record:
01/01/1979 (Patricia Evans)
Last record:
28/08/2024 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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Photo of the association

Liriomyza congesta

The yellow larvae of the fly Liriomyza congesta mine the leaves of various Legumes such as Peas, Medicks, Lucernes and Vetches. The mine is on the upper surface of the leaf and the frass shows in a green strips.