Vetches

Vetches are herbaceous plants in the legume family Fabaceae, primarily species of the genus Vicia. They are mostly climbing or creeping annuals and perennials that produce long, twining stems and tendrils to grasp supports.

Leaves are pinnate, usually with multiple pairs of leaflets and a terminal tendril. Flowers are pea-like, typically in shades of purple, violet, blue, pink, or white, arranged in racemes or spikes. The fruit is a pod containing several seeds.

Vetches are native to Eurasia but have been widely cultivated and naturalized in temperate regions worldwide. They are valued for forage, soil improvement, and as cover or green-manure crops. As legumes, they form nodules with Rhizobium bacteria, fixing atmospheric nitrogen and enriching soil nitrogen content. They are often grown as winter or cool-season crops, sown in fall or early spring, and frequently inoculated with compatible bacteria to promote nodulation.

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) are among the most widely cultivated species, along with tufted vetch (Vicia cracca). These species are used for livestock forage, pasture renovation, and cover cropping in temperate agriculture, where their nitrogen-fixing ability and rapid growth support soil health and weed suppression.