Coronilla varia

Crown vetch, Crown Vetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Crown vetch is a naturalized perennial found in northern Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley regions in disturbed sites, fields, and along roadsides at elevations below 2,200 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces white and purple flowers with white wing petals and distinctive purple-tipped keel. Growing as an erect or sprawling vine-like plant up to one meter tall with angled stems, it develops a spreading habit. Its compound leaves feature 11 to 19 obovate to oblong leaflets, each 1 to 2 centimeters long, with dark-tipped stipules. The fruit develops as a linear, longitudinally ridged pod with 3 to 12 segments, generally 2 to 6 centimeters in length.

Habitat: Disturbed sites, fields, planted as cover along roadsides

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 2200 m

Bioregions: n SN, ScV, expected elsewhere

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.