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Spring Vetch

Vicia lathyroides

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

—
Not native

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

Profile 53%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet

At a glance

Bloom
April to June
Fruiting season
May to July

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 19 Virginia counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

15CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
  • Gesta baptisiaeWild Indigo Duskywing, Baptisia Duskywing
  • Glaucopsyche lygdamusSilvery Blue
Show all 15
  • Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • 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
July

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “April to June” · 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 · “July” · 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

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGNR
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources