Identification
This naturalized perennial was introduced from Europe. It usually grows less than 2 feet tall. The compound leaves have up to 15 paired oval leaflets plus a single one at the tip (C). Ends of the leaflets are rounded with a small pointed tip. As many as 25 pea-like flowers are found in a flattened spherical cluster, usually lavender and white, sometimes a bit variable in color (B). The fruit is a long 1-2 inch pod. Identified by a “crown” of lavender and white pea-like flowers.
Grows in fields and roadside edges, flowering in June and July. In Fontenelle Forest, it has been seen around the floodplain parking lot. More recently it has made an unwelcome appearance in the Knull and Neale Prairie restorations at Neale Woods (D).
Crown Vetch has been used widely for erosion control, especially along roadsides where it makes an attractive ground cover when in bloom. Unfortunately, it can be quite aggressive often spreading into higher quality habitat, like some of our prairie restorations at Neale Woods, where it can be very difficult to control. Its aggresive nature has prompted some states to list it as a noxious weed.
Also known as Axseed.
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