Vicia cracca L.
Bird Vetch
Tufted vetch is a vigorous native perennial that scrambles and climbs through surrounding plants using branched tendrils at the tips of its ferny, many-leafleted leaves. Its great asset is the flower: dense, one-sided spikes of blue-violet to purple pea-flowers, carried well clear of the foliage, which can cover hedges and grassland in a haze of colour at the height of summer.
About
Tufted vetch is a vigorous native perennial that scrambles and climbs through surrounding plants using branched tendrils at the tips of its ferny, many-leafleted leaves. Its great asset is the flower: dense, one-sided spikes of blue-violet to purple pea-flowers, carried well clear of the foliage, which can cover hedges and grassland in a haze of colour at the height of summer.
It is common in hedgerows, rough grassland, scrub, woodland margins, road verges and waste ground, on a range of soils in sun or light shade, and spreads by both seed and creeping roots. Flowering through the summer, it is an excellent nectar and pollen plant for bumblebees and other long-tongued bees, and a larval food plant for several moths and butterflies. As a nitrogen-fixing legume it also improves soil, and its height and bold flower colour make it a valuable addition to taller meadow and hedgerow seed mixes.
Also known as
Boreal Vetch · Bramble Vetch · Canada pea · Cat Peas · Cow Vetch · Tinegrass · Tufted Pea · Tufted Vetch · Turfed Vetch
Synonyms
Cracca gerardii · Cracca major · Cracca plumosa · Cracca pyrenaica · Cracca vulgaris · Ervum cracca · Vicia australis · Vicia azurea · Vicia cracca canescens · Vicia cracca cracca · Vicia cracca etiamalba
In our seed mixes
- BFS 1 – Traditional Hay Meadow Wildflower Mix
- BFS 11a – Coastal Floodplain Grassland Meadow Seed Mix
- BFS 120 – Wildlife Wildflower Seed Mix for Bees, Birds and Butterflies- 100% Flora
- BFS 13 – Tussocky Grassland Wildflower Meadow Mix
- BFS 14 – Brownfield Site Wildflower Mix (Open Mosaic Habitat on Previously Developed Land) – 80% Flora
- BFS 3 – Floodplain Meadow Grassland Seed Mix
- BFS 4 – Heavy Clay Soil Wildflower Seed Mix
- BFS 8 – High Nutrient Initial Establishment Wildflower Grassland Mix – 50% Flora
- BFS1(F) – Traditional Hay Meadow 100% Wildflower
- BFS11A(F)- Coastal Floodplain 100% Meadow Mix
- BFS14(F) – Brownfield Site 100% Wildflower Mix
- BFS3(F)-Floodplain 100% Meadow Grassland Mix
- BFS4(F) – Heavy Clay Soil 100% Wildflower Seed Mix
- BFS8(F) – High Nutrient Initial Establishment 100% Wildflower Mix
Beta — under active development. This catalogue is still being built and accuracy-checked. The information here (including plant identifications, British native status, soil and sun/shade preferences) is provided in good faith for general guidance only and may contain errors or omissions. It must not be relied upon on its own — please confirm details with us before making planting, specification, foraging or purchasing decisions, and never eat or medicinally use any plant based on this catalogue alone, as some species are toxic. To the extent permitted by law, Phoenix Amenity Supplies accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of this information.