Bush Vetch - Vicia sepium
Medium to tall, usually hairy, clambering plant. Leaflets, 3 to 9 pairs, oval to oblong, stipules with a dark spot near to the base. Flowers pink/purple, 12 to 15 mm, in clusters of 2 to 6 with a very short stalk. The lower petals are usually a darker shade of pink than the upper flag petals.
other vetches
Leaflets with blunt tips, and wider towards the base. Calyx teeth unequal, the lower ones longer than the upper, but shorter than the tube
Woodland edges, grassy places, scrub, hedgerows and roadsides.
May to November.
Perennial.
Fairly common in most of Britain except some eastern areas.
Common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 374 of the 617 tetrads.
Graham Calow
Wykin Canal Towpath
25 May 2015
Graham Calow
Holwell Reserve Mineral Line Footpath
11 May 2017
var. ochroleuca
Graham Calow
Wykin Canal Towpath
26 June 2015
David Nicholls
Bagworth Heath
28 June 2014
Steve Mathers
Holwell Mineral Line
04 June 2017
var ochroleuca
Graham Calow
Wood Road, near Nailstone
24 May 2016
Graham Calow
Jubilee Walk Leire
27 September 2013
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Species profile
- Common names
- Bush Vetch
- Species group:
- flowering plant
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Fabales
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 196
- First record:
- 01/01/2007 (Harry Ball)
- Last record:
- 20/04/2026 (Pochin, Christine)
Total records by month
% of records within its species group
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Latest images
Latest records
Graham Calow
Jubilee Walk, Leire
10 August 2011
David Nicholls
Bagworth Heath
28 June 2014 Jubilee Walk Leire (taken 26.4.2009),.JPG)
Graham Calow
Leire, Jubilee Walk (Disused Railway)
26 April 2009
David Nicholls
Tilton Cutting NR
23 May 2009
Barbara Cooper
Holwell Nature Reserve
17 May 2012
Graham Calow
Burbage Common and Woods
13 April 2011
Graham Calow
Ellistown
27 June 2011
 Jubilee Walk Leire (taken 26.4.2009),.JPG)
Megourella tribulis
The aphid Megourella tribulis is usually associated with vetch plants. This small aphid is mainly black with a blue-grey bloom on part of its body
Vetch Aphid
The Vetch Aphid (Megoura viciae) feeds on various species of vetch. The leaves at the tip of the shoot become crumpled and may be true galls. It is a large shiny green globular bodied aphid with black head, legs and antennae. It also has startling red eyes.
Liriomyza congesta
The larva of the Agromyzid fly Liriomyza congesta mines the leaves of various Legumes such as Peas, Medicks, Lucernes and Vetches. The mine is on the upper surface of the leaf and the frass shows in a green strips.
Dasineura viciae
The larvae of the midge Dasineura viciae cause galls to form on Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) and Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium) The leaflets swell to form pod like galls which may form dense clusters ranging in colour from green to red. The swollen areas contain small larvae which are pale orange or pale lemon in colour.