Tufted Vetch flower
Blue Vetch, Tufted Vetch or Cow Vetch, or Tare, Cat Peas, Tinegrass(Vicia Cracca) Pea family
Flowers - Blue, later purple; 0.5 in. long, growing downward in 1-sided spike, 15 to 40 flowered; calyx oblique, small, with unequal teeth; corolla butterfly-shaped, consisting of standard, wings, and keel, all oblong; the first clawed, the second oblique, and adhering to the shorter keel; to stamens, 1 detached from other 9. Stem: Slender, weak, climbing or trailing, downy, 2 to 4 ft. long. Leaves: Tendril bearing, divided into 18 to 24 thin, narrow, oblong leaflets. Fruit: A smooth pod 1 in. long or less, 5 to 8 seeded.
Preferred Habitat - Dry soil, fields, waste land.
Flowering Season - June-August.
Distribution - United States from New Jersey, Kentucky, and Iowa northward and northwestward. Europe and Asia.