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Cow Vetch
(Vicia cracca)
Pea Family
At least I thought this was cow vetch. I was rushed when it bloomed and did a quick check to compare a piece with the Audubon Nature Guide...as this didn't appear to be hairy (Hairy Vetch...Vicia villosa) I decided it was Cow Vetch. The coloration of the flowers, however, matched that of Hairy Vetch. Also, the pod of Cow was described as narrow and lanceolate. The pea type pod on our plant was a flat, wide thing very much like a third rate snow pea pod (see photo below).
Oh well...it's a vetch for sure!
As there are 17 vetches in the Eastern United States, and only two are shown in my guide, perhaps this is neither Hairy or Cow.
Hairy Vetch is an important fodder (plant grown to feed animals). It has escaped from cultivation.
More info next year when I know what it is. I just wanted to get this photo up so you could identify it.
If you have a child in the second grade they will show it to you. We spent an art period sketching it.Many kids found they could "hold hands" with vetch as the tendrils wrapped around their fingers!
Note the leaf. Many pairs of leaflets on a slender stalk that ends with tendrils.
You can begin to see the vetch's relationship to the pea in this photo.
Look closely and you will see seed pods. If you have ever eaten snow pea pods in a stir-fry dinner this should look familiar, except the color of these pods is pale
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