An often hairy, running, annual to perennial herb or vine with leaves that have 6-8 pairs of leaflets and a terminal, branched tendril. Clusters of narrow, purple pea type flowers produce short fat pods with 3-5 dark mottled seeds.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two. Remain underground if buried. Round.
First leaves:
The first leaves have a small residual tendril and 1-2 pairs of spear shaped leaflets with a pointed tip, smooth edges, a tapering base, green nodes and a few scattered hairs. The stipule is small and parallel sided.
Leaves:
Alternate.
Twining branched tendril at the end of the leaf which has 4-12 pairs of leaflets that are opposite to somewhat alternate. Overall the leaf is 50-110 mm long.
Stipules - Smooth edged, 8 mm long
Petiole - of leaf very short. Petiole of leaflets, none to very short.
Blade of leaflet - Narrowly oval, 5-30 mm long by 2-8 mm wide. Tip round pointed with a small spine where the midrib extends beyond the blade. Sides convex. Base tapered. Surface hairy to hairless.
Stems:
Up to 1000 mm long. Hairy.
Flower head:
Long dense spikes like racemes of 2-30 flowers arising from leaf axils. Flowers are rarely single. Flower head stalk 25-70 mm long.
Flowers:
Purple pink pea type, occasionally with white or yellow wings, 10-20 mm long.
Ovary -
Calyx - 10 mm long. Unequal teeth.
Petals - Purple-pink and sometimes with white or yellow wings.
Stamens -
Anthers -
Fruit:
Oblong pod, 20-40 mm long by 6-12 mm wide with 2-8 seeds. Hairy or hairless.
Seeds:
Blackish brown and mottled, globular, 3-5 mm diameter. Yellow flesh when split. Surface smooth and hairless and occasionally with a few large dimples.
Roots:
Taproot. Perennial rootstock on some subspecies.
Key Characters:
Stipules 3-6 mm long without glands, smaller and narrower than leaves
Leaves ending in a tendril.
Leaflets even in number, 2 to many pairs
Apex of leaflets usually shortly mucronate
Racemes mostly 10-30 flowered, rachis no extended beyond the last flower.
Peduncle 25-70 mm long
Flowers10-20 mm long
Pods 20-50 mm long
For Subspecies
ssp villosa -
Leaflets mostly 10-35 mm long by 2-8 mm wide
Stems with dense spreading hairs.
Racemes 10-20 flowered
Flowers 10-20 mm long
Calyx teeth longer than tube.
Pod glabrous
ssp eriocarpa = Vicia dasycarpa
Leaflets mostly 5-15 mm long by 1-5 mm wide
Stems with glabrous or sparsely hairy, sometimes appressed-pubescent.
Racemes 5-20 flowered
Flowers 10-16 mm long
Calyx teeth shorter than tube.
Pod pubescent at least when young.
ssp microphylla
Leaflets mostly 3-10 mm long by 1-4 mm wide
Stems with glabrous or sparsely hairy, sometimes appressed-pubescent.
Racemes 2-6 flowered or 2-10 flowered with purple violet or white wings.
Flowers 10-16 mm long
Calyx teeth shorter than tube.
Pod glabrous or pubescent
ssp varia
Leaflets mostly 10-30 mm long by 2-8 mm wide
Stems with glabrous or sparsely hairy, sometimes appressed-pubescent.
Racemes 10-30 flowered
Flowers 10-16 mm long
Calyx teeth shorter than tube.
Pod glabrous
ssp pseudocracca
Leaflets mostly 5-20 mm long by 1-5 mm wide
Stems with glabrous or sparsely hairy, sometimes appressed-pubescent.
Racemes 2-10 flowered
Flowers 10-16 mm long
Wings usually yellow
Calyx teeth shorter than tube.
Pod glabrous
Adapted from Gwen Harden.
Biology:
Life cycle:
Annual or perennial. Woolly-pod Vetch (Vicia villosa ssp. dasycarpa) is an annual. Seeds germinate in the autumn to winter and the plant grows over the cooler months, flowers in spring and dies back in summer.
Physiology:
Reproduction:
By seed.
Flowering times:
Winter to Spring in NSW.
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
Perennial rootstock.
Hybrids:
4 subspecies are recognised.
Woolly-pod vetch (Vicia villosa ssp. dasycarpa)
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread by seed.
Origin and History:
Europe, West Asia, Middle East.
Distribution:
ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC, WA.
Habitats:
Climate:
Temperate.
Soil:
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Fodder
Detrimental:
Weed of crops and gardens.
Toxicity:
Stock may suffer from grain poisoning on dense mature areas especially after rain.
Symptoms:
Treatment:
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Grazing normally provides control.
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Prevent seed set for 5 years by grazing, mowing, pulling or applying herbicides.
Hand spray with 1 g of chlorsulfuron(700g/kg) plus 25 mL wetting agent in 10 L of water or boom spray with 20 g/ha chlorsulfuron(700g/kg) in autumn to early winter each year. Hand pull survivors in spring before seed set.
For small infestations and in grass dominant areas an annual application of 10 mL Tordon®75-D in 10 L water in early winter gives excellent control of existing plants and has residual activity to control seedlings.
In bushland, 200 g/ha Lontrel®750 or 50 g/ha Logran® applied in early winter provides reasonably selective control. For hand spraying use 25 mL wetting agent plus 4 g Lontrel®750 or 1 g Logran® in 10 L water. Repeat annually for several years.
Plant tall growing perennial species to reduce re-invasion.
Metsulfuron also provides good control but is less residual and less selective. It is relatively tolerant to glyphosate.
Herbicide resistance:
None reported
Biological Control:
Related plants:
Broad Bean (Vicia faba var. major)
Common Vetch (Vicia sativa ssp. sativa) has leaves are divided like a feather into 3-10 pairs of small narrow leaflets, each 8-30 mm long. It has pink to purple pea flowers, each 10-20 mm long and either single or in few-flowered clusters. The seed pod is narrow, slightly flattened and 30-50 mm long.
Hairy Vetch (Vicia hirsuta) has an elongated inflorescence of several small flowers each only 2-3 mm long and small, 6-9 mm long hairy seed pods.