PULSE FAMILY 



LEGUMINOSAE 



HAIRY VETCH 



Ficia villosa Roth 



The Hairy Vetch is a European plant which is frequently 

 planted as a forage crop in this country, and has escaped into 

 dry open soil until in some places it is more common than any 



native species. This an- 

 nual or sometimes per- 

 ennial is known through- 

 out the eastern half of 

 the United States, 

 particularly in orchards, 

 where experience has 

 shown it to be the best 

 legume for enriching the 

 soil. 



The rather weak and 

 slender, climbing or 

 trailing stem^ grow 2-4 

 feet long. They, together 

 with the flower stalks 

 and leaves, are densely 

 covered with soft short 

 hairs. Leaflets are 8-24 

 and usually the terminal 

 3 are modified into ten- 

 drils, by means of which the plant climbs. 



The white and bluish or violet flowers, blooming from May 

 to September, are crowded in large numbers in the more or less 

 i-sided flower clusters. The calyx is 5-toothed with the 2 upper 

 teeth shorter. The standard is oblong and stalked. The wing 

 petals, also oblong, are attached to the middle of the keel, which 

 is curved and slightly shorter than the other petals. Stamens 

 are united at the base but i is separate the greater part of its 

 length. The style is slender and has a tuft of hairs at the end, 

 but the short-stalked, 5-8-seeded pod is smooth. 



In the northern half of the state the Purple or American Vetch, 

 J'icia americana Muhl., is quite common in moist places. It is 

 perennial and nearly smooth, trailing or climbing 2-3 feet. The 

 stipules are conspicuous, being leaflike, sharply toothed and some- 

 times one-half inch long. There are only 2-9 bluish purple flowers 

 loosely arranged in each cluster, and the smooth, short-stalked pod 

 is 4-7-seeded. 



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