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Vicia gigantea

Common name:	Giant Vetch	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	Hook.	Botanical references:	71
Synonyms:	Vicia nigricans gigantea ((Hook.)Lassetter.&Gunn.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - Alaska to California.
Habitat:	Moist places in California, especially in redwood forests[71].
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.
	V. nigricans ssp. gigantea[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,P] V. nigricans subsp. gigantea[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Giant Vetch [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	gigantea = very large;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Canada(Salish)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 5. 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

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Seed.

Young seed - raw or cooked[256]. The seeds are produced in pods 2 - 5cm long, each pod containing 3 - 4 round seeds the size of small peas[256]. They are eaten, when young, like green peas[2, 105, 118, 161], the flavour even of young seeds is rather strong, like old garden peas[256]. Some native North American Indian tribes regarded the seeds as poisonous, though other tribes would eat them as a snack. The pods were harvested when green and then roasted in an open fire until the pods started to split open. The seeds were then removed and eaten[256].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antidandruff; Laxative.

The roots are laxative[257]. An infusion of the roots has been used as a tonic hair wash and anti-dandruff treatment[257].

Other Uses

Hair.

An infusion of the roots has been used as a tonic hair wash and anti-dandruff treatment[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.
Prefers a fairly heavy loam but succeeds in a sunny position in most soils that are well-drained[200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.

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.
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Vicia nigricans ssp. gigantea (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.

References for Vicia nigricans subsp. gigantea (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic 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

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[118] Gunther. E. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. University of Washington Press 1981 ISBN 0-295-95258-X
A small book, it is a good guide to useful plants in Western N. 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.

[256] Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1
Excellent little handbook about the native food plants of Western Canada. Good descriptions of the plants and their uses with colour photos of most plants.

[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.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Vicia+gigantea
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.