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Fabaceae FAMILY

Vicia americana

Vicia americana

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Vicia americana has a wide natural range from the cold temperate regions of Alaska to the warm temperate or even subtropical regions in southwestern N. America. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall can be as low as 250mm or as high as 1,250mm[1]. Species in this genus generally succeed in any well-drained soil in a sunny position if the soil is reliably moist throughout the growing season, otherwise they are best grown in semi-shade[2]. The plant grows on sandy, clayey, medium-textured soils in the wild, though it is usually more abundant in deep porous loams that are rich in organic matter. Soils vary from acidic to moderately basic and are sometimes moderately saline[3]. The plant is strongly drought resistant due to its moderate to deeply branched taproot system which reaches a maximum depth of about 100cm[3]. Top-growth of the plant is killed by fire, but the rhizomes usually survive and resprout[3]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[1, 4].

Propagation

Seed - sown without treatment it will usually germinate in about 14 days. Germination time can be reduced, although overall germination rates will not be improved, by scarifying the seed before sowing[1]. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Vicia+americana>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  4. [4]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  5. [5]A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers — Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. · The Riverside Press · 1963 · ISBN 63-7093 ↩︎Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
  6. [6]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  7. [7]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. — Arnberger. L. P. · Southwestern Monuments Ass. · 1968 · ISBN - ↩︎A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.
  9. [9]Food Plants of the N. American Indians. — Yanovsky. E. · U.S. Depf of Agriculture. · ISBN - ↩︎A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada — Britton. N. L. Brown. A. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1970 · ISBN 0-486-22642-5 ↩︎Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.