Vicia americana var. americana Muhl. ex Willd.
American vetch
Fabaceae (Pea family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Vanessa Robinson     (Photo ID #88670)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Vicia americana
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems mostly single, trailing or climbing, nearly glabrous to densely hairy, 15-100 cm long/tall.
Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound; leaflets 8 to 12 (18), linear to oval, blunt, notched, pointed, or few-toothed at the tip, 1-3.5 cm long, glabrous to hairy, thin to leathery with prominent parallel veins on lower surface; tendrils simple to branched, grasping; stipules deeply toothed, 3-10 mm long, crescent-shaped.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, axillary, stalked raceme of 3 to 9 pea-like flowers, the racemes shorter than the subtending leaves; corollas bluish-purple to reddish-purple, 12-23 mm long; calyces 1/3 as long as the corollas, the 5 teeth to nearly 1/2 the length of the tube.
Fruits:
Pods, glabrous, 2.5-4 cm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

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.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Vicia americana

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
843 2 2500
Slope Gradient (%)
17 -2 262

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

191 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1957
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

AT(1), BG(36), BWBS(408), CDF(18), CWH(58), ESSF(15), ICH(86), IDF(554), MS(77), PP(36), SBPS(73), SBS(509), SWB(21)

Habitat and Range

Moist to mesic meadows, thickets and open forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common in S two-thirds of BC, less frequent northward, absent from the Queen Charlotte Islands; N to SE AK and NT, E to PQ and NB and S to OH, KS, WV, NM and CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Vicia americana var. americana Willd. [superfluous autonym]