Lentil Vetch

Vicia tetrasperma

Found in disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

—

Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…

At a glance

Bloom: April to September
Fruiting season: May to October

JFMAMJJASOND

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 23 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Vicia

Anicla illapsaSnowy Dart
Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
Caenurgia chlorophaVetch Looper Moth
Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
Colias philodiceClouded Sulphur, Clover Butterfly
Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
Eurema dairaBarred Yellow, Barred Sulphur
Feltia repletaReplete Dart

Show all 17

Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Vicia

Megachile melanophaea

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Vicia

Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
Perdix perdixGray Partridge
Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Fabaceae
Fruit begins: May
Fruit ends: October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “April to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit begins · “May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Slender Vetch

Conservation status

Florida rank	SNA
Global rank	GNR
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden