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Vicia americana

Common name:	American Vetch	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	Muhl.	Botanical references:	43, 235
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America - Alaska to Ontario and New York, south to Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona.
Habitat:	Damp or gravelly slopes, thickets and meadows[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Lathyrus linearis[B,P] V. americana ssp. minor[B,P] V. americana var. angustifolia[B,P] V. americana var. linearis[B,P] V. americana var. minor[B,P] V. americana var. oregana[G] V. linearis[B,P] V. oregana[G] V. sparsifolia[B,P] V. trifida[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Purple Vetch [B], American Vetch [P,FEIS], Mat Vetch [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cana = grayed due to hairs
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 1m . . It is in flower in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves Seed Seedpod.

Young shoots - cooked[105, 155, 161].
The tender seeds are eaten by the N. American Indians[212]. Both the mature seeds and the immature seedpods can be used[257]. The pod is about 3cm long and contains 4 - 7 seeds[235].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Ophthalmic Salve Stings.

The leaves have been rubbed in the hands and applied to spider bites[257]. An infusion of the crushed leaves have been used as a bath for treating soreness[257].
An infusion of the plant has been used as an eyewash[257].
An infusion of the leaves has been used by women as a love medicine[257].

Other Uses

String.

The stout roots have been used for tying[257].

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position if the soil is reliably moist throughout the growing season, otherwise it is best grown in semi-shade[200].
A climbing plant, attaching itself to supports by means of tendrils[212].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in situ in spring or autumn.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Vicia americana ssp. minor (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Vicia americana

() Sat Nov 16 02:40:46 2002

My father told me the flowers are edible

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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