Description ³

Annual herb, pubescent to subglahrous, decumbent, erect or climbing. Leaf pinnately compound, petiole less than 1 cm long; leaflets 4-18, 1-4 cm long, 2-15 mm broad, linear to lanceolate to oblong or obovate, acute, obtuse or emarginate, thinly pubescent or glabrescent; stipules 3-8 mm long, semisagittate, dentate: tendril generally branched. Flowers 1-2 rarely 3, axillary, subsessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx 7-20 mm, pubescent, teeth 3-11 mm long, subequal. Corolla pale pink, crimson, purplish violet, rarely white. Vexillum 7-25 mm long. Fruit 2.3-6.5 cm long, 4-8.5 mm broad, narrowly oblong, pubescent becoming glabrous when mature, 6-12-seeded.

Distribution ⁴

Distribution: Pakistan; Kashmir; India; Orient, Europe; Russia; Far East.

Edible ⁵

Though this plant is not toxic as it is eaten by herbivores, it is also not a very commonly eaten plant for humans. Because it is not commonly consumed, it is unknown whether there could possible be negative side-effects. The plant is more commonly used as a cover crop.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) AnneTanne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/78746377@N00/477186273
2. (c) Dean Morley, some rights reserved (CC BY-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/33465428@N02/9051593505/
3. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/19802589
4. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4970090
5. (c) jihyunan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• African Plants - a photo guide
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
• eFloras.org
• Flora Digital de Portugal
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
• 植物和名−学名インデックス YList

Range Map

(c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC-BY)

iNat Map