Vicia villosa subsp. varia

Family: Fabaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Hairy vetch is a naturalized annual found in northern California coastal ranges, Sacramento Valley, central western California, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in grasslands, roadsides, and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces purple to blue flowers in clusters of 10 to 20 blooms. Growing with slender climbing stems that are sparsely covered in short appressed hairs, it reaches heights typical of annual legumes. Its compound leaves have narrow lanceolate stipules and multiple leaflets, characteristic of vetch species. The plant produces sparse, short-haired seed pods typical of its genus.

Habitat: Grassland, roadside, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 1200(2072) m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, NCoRI, CaRF, n SN, GV, CW (exc CCo), TR, PR (exc SnJt), SNE

California counties: El Dorado, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Butte, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Mendocino, Monterey, San Diego, Placer, Amador, Sutter, Colusa, Solano, Calaveras, Yuba, Sacramento, Contra Costa, Yolo, Napa, Tehama, Shasta, Glenn, Merced, Alameda, Stanislaus, Santa Cruz, Mono, Marin, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Sonoma, Trinity, Del Norte, Humboldt, San Benito, Ventura, Fresno, Nevada, San Joaquin, Lake

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