Burke: Vicia nigricans

	Vicia nigricans
	giant vetch
Habit	Succulent, climbing, pubescent to glabrous perennial, the stems 1-2 m. tall, hollow, conspicuously ridged, 3-7 mm. thick.
Leaves	Leaves pinnate, 10-20 cm. long, tendrils very well-developed; leaflets 19-29, lanceolate to oblong, 2.5-4 cm. long, less than twice the length of the stipules.
Flowers	Inflorescence of 7- to 20-flowered racemes, on axillary peduncles that may be much longer than the raceme; flowers pea-like, 14-18 mm. long, creamy-yellow to orange, often purplish-tinged; calyx half the length of the corolla, the upper 2 teeth under 1 mm. long, the lower 1 equal to the tube; style densely bearded at the tip.
Fruits	Pod 3-4 cm. long and 1-1.5 cm. broad, nearly black when dry.

	Vicia nigricans
Flowering time	May-July
Habitat	Beach margins and headlands, forest openings, and along streams near the coast.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in the coastal counties and east in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; along the coast from Alaska to California, inland to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	V. americana, V. cracca, V. hirsuta, V. lathyroides, V. lutea, V. pannonica, V. sativa, V. tetrasperma, V. villosa
Subordinate taxa	V. nigricans var. gigantea
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Vicia nigricans

giant vetch

Habit

Succulent, climbing, pubescent to glabrous perennial, the stems 1-2 m. tall, hollow, conspicuously ridged, 3-7 mm. thick.

Leaves

Leaves pinnate, 10-20 cm. long, tendrils very well-developed;

leaflets 19-29, lanceolate to oblong, 2.5-4 cm. long, less than twice the length of the stipules.

Flowers

Inflorescence of 7- to 20-flowered racemes, on axillary peduncles that may be much longer than the raceme;

flowers pea-like, 14-18 mm. long, creamy-yellow to orange, often purplish-tinged;

calyx half the length of the corolla, the upper 2 teeth under 1 mm. long, the lower 1 equal to the tube;

style densely bearded at the tip.

Fruits

Pod 3-4 cm. long and 1-1.5 cm. broad, nearly black when dry.

Vicia nigricans

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Beach margins and headlands, forest openings, and along streams near the coast.

Distribution

Occurring west of the Cascades crest in the coastal counties and east in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; along the coast from Alaska to California, inland to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa