Tag: Bird Vetch (Vicia cracca)
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The Sapphire Tangled Ribbon
Bird Vetch is an herbaceous, non-native, now invasive, perennial of the Pea family. Its purple flowers have a “wing” on each side, hence its common name. Ontario farmers would combine Bird Vetch seed with hay seed, to produce a higher-protein, richer fodder for their cows, ergo its fanciful name, Cow Vetch. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees…
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Climbing Sprite
Bird Vetch (or Cow Vetch) is a lovely, delicate flower with a fascinating history. Brought to North America from Europe and Asia for livestock fodder, it has become a prolific — now deemed invasive — scrambler along sunny roadsides, fields, and wetlands, like the beautiful Caldwell First Nation Conservation Boardwalk in Leamington. Climbing Sprite Upon…