Hairy vetch

Vicia villosa

Vining, nitrogen-fixing winter annual or short-lived perennial legume with soft woolly stems and leaves and purple flowers. Adapted to a wide range of well-drained soils; intolerant of acidity and salinity. Suited to wetter soils and colder winters than most other winter-active legumes. More drought tolerant than other vetches. Fast growth for hay, pasture, silage or green manure. Highly palatable and nutritious. Often grown with annual forage grasses as climbing structure and to improve hay quality. Also use as a self-perpetuating, weed-smothering cover crop, in agricultural rotations and in orchards and vineyards. Attractive seed and nesting cover to doves, pheasants, quail and pigeons. Attracts bumble bees and beneficial insects. May become weedy, invading nearby areas; till, cut or graze before seed-set where necessary.