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What

Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)

Observer

yeshecho

Date

March 22, 2015 01:58 PM PDT

Description

Spring vetch

Vicia sativa is a sprawling annual herb, a member of the pea family Fabaceae. Common Vetch has also been part of the human diet, as attested by carbonised remains found at early Neolithic sites in Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. It has also been reported from predynastic sites of ancient Egypt, and several Bronze Age sites in Turkmenia and Slovakia. However, definite evidence for later vetch cultivation is available only for Roman times.

Horses thrive very well on Common Vetch, even better than on clover and rye grass; the same applies to fattening cattle, which feed faster on vetch than on most grasses or other edible plants. Danger often arises from livestock eating too much vetch, especially when podded; colics and other stomach disorders are apt to be produced by the excessive loads devoured.
Cereal grains can be sown with vetch so it can use their stronger stems for support, attaching via tendrils. When grown with oats or other grasses,

Common Vetch - Photo (c) Reiner Richter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Reiner Richter
karenkroesen's ID: Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)
Added on March 23, 2015
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