Plant · P-009

Hairy Vetch

Vicia villosa

A vigorous, cool-season legume grown as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop and green manure, forming a low mat of ferny, hairy-stemmed foliage that lengthens into a sprawling, climbing vine several feet long once it has something to scramble over. Clusters of small purple, pea-shaped flowers appear on one side of an elongated stalk from spring into summer and are worked by bees. Fixes substantial nitrogen through root nodules and adds bulky organic matter when cut and left on the surface or turned in. A portion of its seed is hard-coated and can lie dormant in the soil for a season or more before germinating, so a planting can volunteer well after the crop is turned under. Grows through cold winters with snow cover, tolerates drought once established, and does best in full sun on well-drained ground of almost any texture.