Vicia tetrasperma

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Young leaves and shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The plant also serves as a coffee substitute, with the roasted seeds almost certainly being the part used for this purpose.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. In China it grows from sea level to 2,900 m above sea level. Tasmania Herbarium. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Afghanistan, Africa, Australia, Bhutan, Britain, Central Asia, China, Europe, France, Himalayas, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Mediterranean, Middle East, Norfolk Island, North Africa, North America, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, USA, Uzbekistan,

How to Identify

A slender scrambling annual herb. The leaves have 3-6 pairs of leaflets. They are usually alternate. They are narrowly oblong and 5-20 mm long by 1-3 mm wide. They have a very small sharp tip. The stalk of the leaf has a tendril at the end. There are 1 or 2 flowers in a group. The flower stalks are 2-4 cm long. The petals are pale blue and there is a purple spot on the keel. The pods are oblong and 10-15 mm long by 3.5 mm wide. There are usually 4 seeds. The pods are smooth and light brown. The seeds are almost round and 2 mm across. The seeds are brown.

How to Grow

Propagation: Pre-soak seed for 24 hours in warm water, then sow in situ in spring or autumn.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

Fixes atmospheric nitrogen.

Vicia tetrasperma (syn. Ervum tetraspermum) the smooth tare, smooth vetch, lentil vetch or sparrow vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae.

Notes

There are about 140 Vicia species. They are mostly temperate.

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