Flower Color

• Blue-purple
• Purple
• White

Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)

• Axillary racemes

Number of Petals

• 5 petals

Petal Separation

• Completely free to base
• United > 75% of length

Petal Tip

• Bilobed
• Pointed
• Rounded

Flower Symmetry

• Flowers strongly irregular

Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.6 inch)

Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)
• 8 mm (.32 inch)
• 9 mm (.36 inch)

Number of Sepals

• 5 sepals

Sepal Separation

• United from 25% - 75% length
• United > 75% of length

Sepal Tip

• Pointed

Flower Sex

• Bisexual (perfect)

Number of Styles

• 1 style

Number of Stamens

• 10 stamens

Stamens Attached to the Petals

• Stamens NOT attached to the petals

Stamens Connate (united)

• Filaments united, diadelphous

Carpel Separation

• Carpels united (or one)

Number of Carpels

• 1 carpel

Ovary Position

• Superior (hypogynous)

Fruit Type

• Capsule, 1-celled
• Legume

Fruit Length at Maturity

• 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
• 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
• 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
• 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
• 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)

Fruit Width at Maturity

• 5 mm (.20 inch)
• 6 mm (.24 inch)
• 7 mm (.28 inch)

Burs

• Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement

• Alternate

Leaf Type

• Compound even pinnate < 9 leaflets
• Compound even pinnate > 9 leaflets

Stipules

• Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long
• Foliaceous > 1 cm (> .40 inch) long

Tendrils

• Tendrils present

Venation

• Pinnate

Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio

• Petiole < 25% total length

Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)

• 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)

Leaf Width

• 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
• 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)

Leaf or Leaflet Margin

• Entire

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base

• Acute (cuneate)
• Rounded

Leaf or Leaflet Tip

• Acute
• Mucronate
• Rounded (obtuse)

Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface

• Glabrous (NO hairs)
• Sericeous or villous (silky)
• Villous or sericious (silky)

Succulence

• Not succulent

Milky Juice

• Juice NOT milky (watery)

Woodiness

• Herbaceous

Spines or Thorns

• Spines or Thorns ABSENT

Aromatic (vegetative structures)

• Not aromatic

Life Cycle

• Perennial

Growth Habit (while flowering)

• Spreading ascending
• Climbing vine

Plant Height at Maturity

• 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
• 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
• 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
• 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)

Wind Dissemination

• Not wind disseminated

Moisture Regime

• Mesic

Chlorophyll

• Present

Stem Cross Section

• Ridged
• Round

Flowering Stem Leaves

• Stem uniformly leafy

Main Stem Branches

• Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule

• Rhizomatous

US State

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Maine
• Michigan
• Missouri
• North Carolina
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Maryland
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Alaska
• California
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming

Canadian Province or Territory

• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon
• Nunavut

Other

• St. Pierre and Miquelon
• Labrador
• Greenland

• The Biology of Canadian Weeds: Canadian Journal of Plant Science Vol:66Pg.711
• Common Weeds of Canada, Mulligan 1987 (ISBN 0-910053-59-9) See page: 67
• Identification Guide to the Weeds of Quebec, 1999 (ISBN# 2-89457-174-7) See page: 112
• Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 64
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 125
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 288
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 830
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 111
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 321
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 238
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 101
• Wildly Successful Plants, A Handbook of North American Weeds, 1977 (ISBN# 0-02-528850-4) See page: 20, 63
• Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
• Vicia sativa ssp. nigra / Fabaceae / vetch, narrowleaf
• Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 238
• Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 167
• How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 72
• Identifying Seedling and Mature Weeds (Southeastern US) 1980 North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Bulletin #461 See page: 24
• Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 67
• Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 124
• Some Weedy Plants of North Carolina, 1955 North Carolina Ag. Ext. Circular # 390, See page: 31
• South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 111
• S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 8 VICAN
• Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 288, 290
• Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 45
• Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 269, 270
• Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 823
• Weeds of Canada, 1970 Canada Dept. of Ag., Pub. # 948, See page: 110
• Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 150
• Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 226
• Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 110
• Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 238
• Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 99
• Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 211
• Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 183
• Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 351
• Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 349
• Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X