Vicia unijuga
A. Braun
Crooked Broad Bean, Slanting head vegetable
(c) Роман Алдергот, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Роман Алдергот
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(c) MP Zhou, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by MP Zhou
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Seeds
Young plants and leaves are eaten cooked.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate vegetable. It grows in Inner Mongolia in China. It occur throughout much of China below 4,000 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, Russia, Siberia, Tibet,
How to Identify
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 1 m high. It is covered with dense soft silky hairs. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. There are 2 leaflets and they are 3-10 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. The flowers are purple or purple-red. They are showy and 1.5 cm long. They occur as 6-8 in a group in the axils of leaves. The pod is 3-4 cm long and brown. The seeds are a flattened round shape and brown.
How to Grow
Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position if the soil is reliably moist throughout the growing season, otherwise it is best grown in semi-shade.
Propagation: Pre-soak seed for 24 hours in warm water, then sow in situ in spring or autumn.
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Other Uses
A highly ornamental plant. Forms a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, which create nodules on the roots that fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen feeds the plant itself, while some becomes available to neighbouring plants. Also used as a dynamic accumulator.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Vicia unijuga, commonly called two-leaf vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. It is native to eastern Asia, where it is widespread, its range extending through China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan and Russia. It is very common in both China and Japan, and may be the most common species of Vicia in China. It is found in a variety of forested and open habitats. It is a perennial that produces purple flowers in the summer and fall. This species contains a considerable amount of morphological variation, with some forms and varieties being named. Vicia unijuga historically included the similar-looking Vicia ohwiana, which has now been given the rank of species.
Other Information
It is occasionally cultivated.
Notes
There are about 140 Vicia species. They are mostly temperate.
Names & Synonyms
Nanten hagi, Two-leaved vetch
References (12)
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- ILDIS Legumes of the World http:www:ildis.org/Legume/Web
- Index sem. hort. berol. app. 12. 1853
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
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- Urgamal, M., Oyuntsetseg, B., Nyambayar, D. & Dulamsuren, Ch. 2014. Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia. (Editors: Sanchir, Ch. & Jamsran, Ts.). Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “Admon“ Press. 334pp. (p. 121-143).
- Wujisguleng, W., & Khasbagen. K., 2010, An integrated assessment of wild vegetable resources in Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China. Journal or Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 6:34
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