Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

Europe and western Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

A sprawling climbing legume with fuzzy stems and clusters of purple, tube-shaped flowers that hang in one-sided racemes. Farmers plant it as a cover crop because its roots fix nitrogen in the soil, enriching fields for the next season.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Fabales

Family

Fabaceae

Genus

Vicia

Species

Vicia villosa