FoI
Black-Pod Vetch
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Black-Pod Vetch
ative Photo: Ankush Dave
Common name: Black-Pod Vetch, common vetch, narrow-leaf vetch, spring vetch • Nepali: कुटुली कोशा Kutulee Koshaa, अकटा Akataa, अवन्यु Avanyu, कंकरा Kankaraa
Botanical name: Vicia sativa subsp. nigra    Family: Fabaceae (Pea family)
Synonyms: Vicia sativa var. nigra, Vicia angustifolia, Vicia pilosa

Black-Pod Vetch is a scrambling and climbing herb, with stems almost hairless, up to 3 ft tall. Leaves are compound with 5-6 pairs of opposite leaflets and 1 terminal tendril. Leaflets are narrow, linear, 2.5-3.0 cm long, 2-3 mm wide, pointed at tip. Stipules are small, arrow-shaped, with some sharp teeth. Flowers are borne singly or in pairs on short stalks arising at the base of the leaves, blue to purple, 1.0-1.8 cm long. Seed pods are mainly black, linear, 4-6 mm broad, containing 10-12 round or angulated small seeds. Black-Pod Vetch is found in Kashmir and Eurasia. Flowering: June-July.

Identification credit: Gurcharan Singh, Tabish Photographed in Pali Ghat, Rajasthan & Baramula, Kashmir.

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