Thick-fruited Vetch Vicia villosa

Hairy vetch is a winter annual weed in the Fabaceae (bean) family often grown as a cover crop or used as animal fodder.  Colonies are typically found growing along river banks, meadows, prairies, shoulders of highways overpasses, along roads, edge of croplands, and in abandoned fields, and well as other disturbed and undisturbed areas.  Its invasive tendencies lead it to compete with native plants and with planted cropland.  It uses other plants for support, affecting those plants' health.  

The hairy racemes of showy flowers reach lengths of 6".  They develop from the axils of the leaves.  The 5 to 20 pairs of drooping flowers will appear on one side of the raceme.  Each flower will have 5 petals, with the flaring upper petal being a darker color than the others.  Typically, blooming takes place over a 1 to 2 month period in early to late summer.  However, a later bloom period is not uncommon.  

The stems are weak.  They cannot support their own weight without taking advantage of surrounding plants.   Once a colony is established, attempting to walk through the area, one will encounter a tangled mass of stems.  

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  This aggressive, weedy, plant can cause issues for croplands.  Competition for space can endanger more desirable native plants.  Can be poisonous to poultry and mammals.  It is listed as an invasive plant in Oregon.