Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Vicia villosa var. villosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Vetch from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vicia villosa ssp. villosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 11 (2023)
Vicia villosa var. villosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Vicia villosa ssp. villosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Vicia villosa ssp. villosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-36-006:
Vicia villosa FAMILY Fabaceae
COMMON NAME:
Hairy Vetch, Fodder Vetch, Winter Vetch
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm140521_071
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140521_076b
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140521_079
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
inflorescences 20+-flowered, flowers crowded on rachis. Flowers 14-18mm, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm140521_082
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Flowers are bicolored (violet & white) in both [ssp. varia and ssp. villosa], per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm140521_084
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Plant conspicuously villous, the hairs spreading and 1-2mm long, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_208
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_212
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaflets 3-6mm wide, per Weakley's Flora (2025).
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_213
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140623_214
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Vicia villosa var. villosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vicia villosa ssp. villosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 11
Vicia villosa var. villosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Vicia villosa ssp. villosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Vicia villosa ssp. villosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-36-006:
Vicia villosa
FAMILY
Fabaceae
1637
Forb
Annual/Biennial/Rarely perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common (rare in GA)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Even-pinnately compound: 10-20 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Violet
(rarely white)
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
10 stamens, diadelphous, 9 and 1
Superior ovary
Racemes long-stalked, one-sided, with 10-40 densely clustered flowers
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p393
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p536
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p112
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p144
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p182
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p077
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".