Annual or perennial herbs, often climbing. Stipules semi-sagittate, often fimbriate or toothed; stipels 0. Leaves paripinnate, usually with a terminal tendril. Leaflets opposite, subopposite or alternate. Flowers solitary or in axillary clusters or racemes. Calyx teeth ± equal or the lower longer. Upper stamen ± free. Pod flattened, 2-valved, dehiscent. Derivation of name: Vicia - the Latin name for a vetch Worldwide: c. 160 species, mainly northern temperate regions, but also South America, Hawaii and the highlands of tropical Africa; some ± cosmopolitan weeds Zimbabwe: 4 taxa. |
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