Vicia tetrasperma

Sparrow vetch, Sparrow Vetch

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Sparrow vetch is a naturalized annual plant found in coastal regions of California, including northern coastal, central coastal, and San Francisco Bay areas, in disturbed habitats at elevations below 610 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces pale lavender to light purple flowers small and delicate, typically 1 to 3 blooms per inflorescence. Growing with slender, decumbent or climbing stems 10 to 50 centimeters long, it has a graceful, sprawling growth habit. Its compound leaves feature 4 to 10 linear to elliptic leaflets, each 6 to 20 millimeters long, with entire stipules. The fruit is a glabrous pod 10 to 13 millimeters long with a rounded tip and slightly reflexed style.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 610 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, CCo, SnFrB

California counties: Sonoma, Humboldt, Mendocino, San Mateo, Sacramento, Ventura, Nevada, Santa Cruz, Napa, San Diego, Monterey

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