A large group of legume vines with pinnate leaves, climbing tendrils, and small pea-shaped flowers, grown as fodder, cover crops, and pollinator forage.
Description
Vetch climbs with the help of small forked tendrils at the tips of its compound leaves. Flowers are typical pea-shaped blooms in purple, pink, or yellow, followed by hairy pods.
Cultivation
Like all legumes, vetches fix nitrogen from the air via root nodule bacteria. They are widely sown as cover crops to enrich soil between cash crops and as forage for livestock.
Uses
Hairy vetch and common vetch are major cover crops in sustainable farming. The seeds of some species are eaten by livestock and game birds, though raw seeds can be toxic to humans.
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Vetch starts with V and ends with H. Browse other plants along the same letter.
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