General:
Perennial herb; stems climbing or trailing, up to 2 m long, finely short-hairy to glabrous, angled and somewhat grooved.

Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound; leaflets 12 to 24, linear to lance-elliptic, abruptly narrowed to a pointed tip, 1-3 cm long; tendrils well developed, branched, grasping; stipules entire to toothed, 7-15 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence an axillary, long-stalked, one-sided raceme of 20 to 70 densely packed, drooping, pea-like flowers, the racemes longer than the supporting stalks; corollas blue to reddish-purple, two-toned dark and pale, (8) 10-15 mm long; calyces 1/2 as long as the corollas, gradually rounded or slightly swollen at the base on the upper side, the tube 2-3 mm long, the upper pair of teeth short and triangular, the lower 3 much longer and narrower.

Fruits:
Pods, 1.5-3 cm long, glabrous; seeds 4 to 8.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Vicia cracca subsp. grossheimii (Ekutim.) Hashimov, nom. inval. [anomalous]
Vicia semicincta Greene