Hairy vetch is a winter annual weed in the Fabaceae (bean) family often grown as a cover crop or used as animal fodder. Colonies are typically found growing along river banks, meadows, prairies, shoulders of highways overpasses, along roads, edge of croplands, and in abandoned fields, and well as other disturbed and undisturbed areas. Its invasive tendencies lead it to compete with native plants and with planted cropland. It uses other plants for support, affecting those plants' health. The hairy racemes of showy flowers reach lengths of 6". They develop from the axils of the leaves. The 5 to 20 pairs of drooping flowers will appear on one side of the raceme. Each flower will have 5 petals, with the flaring upper petal being a darker color than the others. Typically, blooming takes place over a 1 to 2 month period in early to late summer. However, a later bloom period is not uncommon. The stems are weak. They cannot support their own weight without taking advantage of surrounding plants. Once a colony is established, attempting to walk through the area, one will encounter a tangled mass of stems. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: This aggressive, weedy, plant can cause issues for croplands. Competition for space can endanger more desirable native plants. Can be poisonous to poultry and mammals. It is listed as an invasive plant in Oregon.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Linear; Oblanceolate; Oblong
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Alternate pinnately compound leaves. The whole leaf is 10" long and 2" across, the leaflets are in pairs of 8-12 and are 1" long and 1/4" across and oblong to oblanceolate entire margins. The central stalk of each leaf has white hairs in a spreading pattern.
Flower color
Blue; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Lipped
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Violet blue to pink flowers on slender racemes. Each 6" racemes can have 5 to 20 pairs of flowers that hang in a nodding position.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Legume
Fruit size
1-3 inches long
Fruit detail
Its fruit is a flattened pea pod of up to 2". The pod will contain round seeds.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
3 to 10, ridged rounded stems with white hairs. They are vining, multi-branched and sprawling.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Canary Islands, Africa, Europe, Western Asia
Wildlife value
Long-tongued bees and bumblebees are attracted to the nectar of the flowers. Caterpillars of moths and butterflies feed on the plants flowers, foliage and seeds. Wild game birds will sometimes eat the seeds.