Vicia cracca

Bird vetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Bird vetch is a naturalized perennial herb found in northern Coast Ranges, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and North Coast Ranges in roadsides and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces blue-purple or lavender flowers, occasionally white, in dense clusters of 15 to 25 blooms along one side of the axis. Growing with climbing stems up to 2 meters tall and puberulent texture, it spreads readily through disturbed landscapes. Its compound leaves feature 14 to 22 linear to elliptic leaflets between 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, with entire stipules connecting each leaflet. The plant produces elongated fruits 1.5 to 3 centimeters long and 6 to 7 millimeters wide, which help it spread across various open habitats.

Habitat: Roadsides, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, ScV, SnFrB, MP

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