Vicia sepium L.
Bush Vetch
Bush vetch is a scrambling perennial of the pea family and a familiar native of British and Irish hedgerows. It climbs and sprawls using branched tendrils at the tips of its pinnate leaves, throwing up loose stems clothed in soft foliage.
About
Bush vetch is a scrambling perennial of the pea family and a familiar native of British and Irish hedgerows. It climbs and sprawls using branched tendrils at the tips of its pinnate leaves, throwing up loose stems clothed in soft foliage. From late spring into summer it carries short clusters of dull purplish to lilac-blue pea flowers tucked close to the leaf bases, followed by smooth black pods. As a legume it fixes nitrogen at its roots, quietly enriching the soil around it.
You will find it threaded through hedge banks, rough grassland, woodland edges, roadsides and scrubby waste ground, where it copes with a wide range of soils and tolerates partial shade as readily as open sun. The flowers are a useful early-season source of nectar and pollen for bumblebees and other long-tongued insects, and the plant is a food source for several caterpillars. It suits hedgerow restoration and informal grassland margins more than tidy borders.
Also known as
Hedge Vetch
Synonyms
Atossa sepium · Atossa sepium angustifolia · Atossa sepium ochroleuca · Atossa sepium subrotunda · Faba sepium · Vicia anomala · Vicia drymeja · Vicia dumetorum · Vicia eriocalyx · Vicia montana
In our seed mixes
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.