Relatives
Vicia ervilia L. - Bitter vetch.
Taxonomic position.
Family Leguminosae Endl., genus Ervilia (L.) Medik.Synonyms:
Ervum ervilia L., Lens pygmaea A. Grossh.Biology and morphology.
Annual herb. The stem erect or ascending, branched, 20-50 cm high. Stipules almost arrow-shaped, dentated. Leaves pinnate (8-12 pairs of leaflets). Leaflets lance-oblong, dense covered by appressed hairs, notched at the top. Common flower stalks shorter than leaves bearing 2-4 florets and is ended by the spike. Calyx toothes awl-shaped and are longer than the tube. Corolla pinkish or pale blue. Pods hanging down, elongated, 3-4-seeded, constricted between seeds. Mature pods are stramineous. Seed brown or with black picture on the surface, angular or globe-shaped, 5-6mm in diameter, glabrous. Self-compatible and self-pollinated plant. Blossoms in May, seed ripening in July. 2n=14.Distribution.
Caucasus.Ecology.
Adapted to any soil type. In fields, at stony slopes, at ruderal sites. From plain to middle mountain zones (900-1500 meter upper sea level).Utilization and economic value.
Perspective forage crop. Characterized by drought-resistance, high productivity, fast growing. Especially good as legume for grain and forage for poultry farms, hog-raising farms. Soil-building, too.Literature:
Brezhnev D. D., Korovina O. N. 1980. Wild relatives of the cultivated plants of flora of the USSR. - L.: Kolos, 376 pp. (in Russian).Flora of cultivated plants. Vicia. 1999. Repjev S. I. (ed.). - SPb.: VIR, Vol. IV, part 2 - 492 pp. (in Russin).
Flora of the European part of the USSR. 1987. Phyodorov A. A. (ed.). Vol. VI. - 254 pp. (in Russian).
Flora of Kazakhstan. 1961. Pavlov N. B. (ed.). - Alma - Ata: AN KazSSR, Vol. V. - 515 pp. (in Russian).
Flora of Siberia. 1994. Polozhiy A.B., Malyshev L.I., (ed.). - Novosibirsk: Nauka, Vol. 9. - 280 pp. (in Russian).
Flora of Tadzhikistan. 1978. Ovchinnikov P. N. (ed.). - L.: Nauka, Vol. V. - 678 pp. (in Russian).
Flora of the USSR. Genus Vicia. 1948. Schischkin V.K., E.G. Bobrov (ed.). Vol. XIII, M.-L.: AN USSR , p. 406 - 475. (in Russian).
Flora of Uzbekistan. 1955. Korovin E. P (ed.). - Tashkent: AN UzSSR, Vol. III. - 825 pp.(in Russian).
Galushko A. I. 1980. Flora of Northern Caucasus. A field guide. - Rostov - na - Donu:, Vol. 2. - 350 pp. (in Russian).
Grossheim A. A. 1952. Genus Vicia. Flora of the Caucasus. - M. - L.: Academy of Science of the USSR, Vol. V. - p. 380 - 398. (in Russian).
Nikitin V. V., Geldikhanov A. M.. 1988. Plants of Turkmenistan. A field guide. - L.: Nauka, 680 pp. (in Russian).