American Vetch (2)

American Vetch
Vicia americana ssp. americana

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Blue Vetch, Climbing Vetch, Purple Vetch
Photo taken on: June 26, 2004
Location: Almont, CO
Life Zones: Foothills to subalpine
Habitat: Meadows, woodlands

Grows to 3 feet in length sprawling and climbing up other plants with tendrils. From 3 to 9 purple/fuchsia flowers grow in a loose cluster and are about ½" long. Leaves are divided into 4 to 9 1¼" long narrow leaflets and have a tendril at the tip.

American Vetch
Vicia americana ssp. minor

Family: Pea (Fabaceae)
AKA: Narrow-leaved American Vetch, Stiff-leaf Vetch
Photo taken on: May 26, 2019
Location: Wet Mountains, Eastern CO
Life Zones: Plains and foothills
Habitat: Grasslands and pine forests

Grows to 2 feet in length using other plants for support. From 3 to 4 purple/white flowers grow in a cluster and are more than ½" long. Leaves are divided into 2 to 5 pairs of long narrow leaflets and have a tendril at the tip.

The two subspecies are differentiated by the length of the stems, number of flowers, pairs of leaflets, narrower leaflets and location.