Fabaceae FAMILY

Vicia ludoviciana

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

The seeds contain the anti-nutritional compound L-canavanine, a competitive inhibitor of arginine decarboxylase. This is removed by soaking the seeds in water prior to cooking and discarding the soak water.

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual Climber

Growth—

Vicia ludoviciana is native to temperate regions with mild winters. It germinates in the autumn, growing through the cool season and flowering in the spring and early summer^[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]. Prefers a medium to heavy textured soil^[1]. 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^[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ around 3 - 6mm deep. Untreated seed has a germination rate of around 50% in its first year, this can be increased to around 90% by scarifying the seed^[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 - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Vicia+ludoviciana>

Pollinators

Insects, Self

References

[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]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]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.
[4]Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas — Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J · Botanical Research Institute, Texas. · 1999 · http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm · ISBN 1-889878-01-4 ↩︎An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.
[5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.