Relatives
Vicia amoena Fisch. - Pleasant vetch.
Taxonomic position.
Family Fabaceae Lindl., genus Vicia L.Morphology and biology.
A perennial plant, up to 1 m in height. Stems are pubescent by appressed hairs, less often are naked, ascending, scandent. Stipules are large, 10-15 mm in length, semisagittate, with large denticles. Leaves consist from 5-7 pairs of elliptic or prolong-linear leaflets. Plates of leaflets are coriaceous, 20-40 mm in length, 8-12 mm in width. Tops of leaflets are blunt; top of leaflets sometimes are little bit retuse, with a cusp. Peduncules consist from 10 - 20 flowers. Type of inflorescens is raceme. Flowers are 12-15 mm in length. Calyx is shortly tubular; its denticles are lanceolate, inferior one is equal to tube or longer than half of tube, upper denticles are very short. A corolla is bright - dark blue or violet - light blue. The flag is inversely ovare, on its top- retuse, its length is equal to wings length, but longer than keel, and the plate of flag is longer than its claw. Plates of wings are oblong, longer than claws. A pod is oblong or prolong-rhombic, 22-28 mm in length, on a fruit stalk, which is longer than a calyx; pod has 2-4 seeds.Blossoms in April, matures in June.
Distribution.
The common distribution: Mongolia, Japan, and China. In territory of former USSR: Western Siberia - Obsky region, Altay; Eastern Siberia - Angara-Sajany, Lensky-Kolymsky, Daursky regions; Far East - Ohotsky, Udsky, Zea - Bureinsky, Ussurijsky regions, Sakhalin.Ecology.
On meadows, on slopes of mountains, among bushes, on wood skirts, it is rare - in stipa steppes.Use and economic value.
A protein-conteining fodder plant of high quality (up to 19 % of a crude protein in a green material). Forms an abundant green mass; it is well eaten by cattle, preserves green leaves on a plant till late autumn. Frost - proofed plant.References:
Cherepanov, S.K. 1995. Plantae Vasculares Rossicae et Civitatum Collimitanearum (in limicis USSR olim). St-Petersburg, "Mir I Semia", 990 p. (in Russian).Flora USSR, 1948. Vol. 13. B.K., Shishkin, E.G., Bobrov (eds.) M.-L.: Publishing House of Acad. Science, p.444-445. (in Russian).
Flora of Siberia. Fabaceae (Leguminosae). 1994. Polozhij A.V., Malyshev's L.I. (ed.). vol. 9. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 280 p. (in Russian).
Nikiforova, O.D. 1988. Wild Vicia of Siberia. Novosibirsk, Nauka 88 p. (in Russian)
Vascular plants of the Soviet Far East. 1989. Kharkevich.s S.S. (ed.), vol. 4. Leningrad: Nauka, 380 p. (in Russian).