Vicia venosa

(Willd. ex Link) Maxim.

FabaceaeLeaves

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iNaturalist · cc-by
(c) Roman A. Lagazyuk (Роман А. Лагазюк), some rights reserved (CC BY)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Leaves and young stems are eaten cooked.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. In north China it grows between 600-1,800 m above sea level.

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Siberia,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. The stems are erect and it grows 40-80 cm tall. The leaves have leaflets in pairs along the stalk. There are 2-6 pairs of leaflets. These are narrowly sword shaped and 40-65 mm long by 3-13 mm wide. There are 4-9 flowers in a group. They are red, purple or blue. The pod is oblong and flat and 25-33 mm long. There are 3-6 seeds.

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.

Wikipedia

A perennial vetch growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in) tall, flowering July to September with seeds maturing August to September. The self-fertile, hermaphroditic plant fixes nitrogen in light, medium, or heavy soils with good drainage across mildly acidic to alkaline conditions. It grows in semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.

Notes

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

Names & Synonyms

Yolligalk'wi

References (4)

Melanges Biol. Bull. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Peersbourg 9:236. 1874
Pemberton, R. W. & Lee, N. S., 1996, Wild Food Plants in South Korea: Market Presence, New Crops, and Exports to the United States. Economic Botany, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 57-70
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
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).