Yellow Vetches with Pinnate Leaves
What are they?
This group of yellow-flowered plants consists of species that are mostly short annuals or low-growing perennials in the pea family. This family is one of our largest and contains a wide array of species, but all with the 'classic' pea flower. Most species on this page are named vetches and have pinnate leaves, that is to say leaves that are made up of a series of opposite pairs of leaflets. The leaves often terminate in a twining tip known as a tendril, which may be simple or forked.
Where are they found?
This is a diverse assemblage of species but most are to be found in grassy habitats such as roadsides, grassy meadows and heaths and grassy banks.
Identification
Leaf structure and overall flower features will get you into the right area to start with - especially whether the flowers are solitary or in clusters. If present, it is also worth noting details of the seed pods.
Common Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria
Native. A common and often abundant plant on grassy heaths in Breckland and on eroding cliffs in northeast Norfolk. Occasional elsewhere, especially where included as part of a sown seed mix. Flowers June to September. A low-growing perennial plant to 40cm - less when growing in cropped turf. Flowers appear in tightly crowded heads, their bases with a distinctive thick coat of white hairs which persists when the flowers go to seed. A deeply fingered, leafy bract surrounds the base of the flowers. Leaves blue-green in colour.
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Horseshoe Vetch Hippocrepis comosa
Native. A rare plant of chalky grassland, confined to a few protected sites in Norfolk and Suffolk but becoming more common west of the region where there is more surface chalk. Flowers May to July. A low-growing perennial plant to 40cm - less when growing in cropped turf. A delicate plant with relatively small leaves and flowers arranged in a regular, circular cluster atop an upright stalk. Fruits distinctive, the pods being made up of a series of horseshoe-shaped loops, with each horseshoe containing a seed.
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Yellow Vetch Vicia lutea
Native. A rare plant of coastal shingle in southeast Suffolk. Flowers June to August. A low-growing annual plant, straggling to 60cm in height but often less. A typical Vicia species with pinnate leaves, the leaves terminating in forked tendrils. Flowers pale, creamy yellow with darker veins, or sometimes flushed with mauve; usually solitary but sometimes two or three together. Standard petal hairless on the back. Fruits a typical pea pod, but hairy on the outside.
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Hairy Yellow Vetch Vicia hybrida
Introduced from southern Europe. A rare casual with a handful of old records from the region. Flowers June to August. A low-growing annual plant, straggling to 60cm in height but often less. A typical Vicia species with pinnate leaves, the leaves terminating in tendrils. Flowers variable, pale yellow, pale yellow with a darker yellow patch on the standard or flushed with mauve; typically solitary in the leaf axils. The standard petal is clearly hairy on the back. Fruits a typical pea pod, but hairy on the outside.
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Meadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis
Native. Widespread throughout much of the region in grassy places. Flowers May to August. A scrambling perennial that may reach over a metre in height when climbing over shrubby vegetation. Leaves are pinnate but reduced to just a single pair of leaflets, each leaf then having extensive tendrils at the tip which are used for climbing. The leaf stipules are much enlarged and spear-shaped; they are often more obvious than the leaves themselves and create the impression of spear-shaped leaves. Fruits a narrow pea pod, becoming black when ripe.
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Annual Pea Lathyrus annuus
(Fodder Pea) Introduced from southern Europe. A rare casual, reported just a couple of times from Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Flowers June to August. A scrambling annual that may reach over a metre in height when climbing over shrubby vegetation. Leaves are pinnate but reduced to just a single pair of narrow, linear leaflets, each leaf then having extensive tendrils at the tip which are used for climbing. The leaf stipules are small with two, linear lobes. The stems are strongly flattened and winged.
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Wild Liquorice Astragalus glycyphyllos
Native. A rare plant of shady banks on chalky soils. Flowers July to August. A spreading perennial that may reach a metre in height. Flowers cream-coloured, sometimes appearing white from a distance. Leaves are pinnate with rounded leaflets, the leaves having no tendrils at the tips.
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