V. CRAC CA. Flowers tiled: leafits spear-shaped, pubescent: stipula mostly entire. Kniph. 10-Curt. 310-Fl. Dan. 804-(E. Bot. 1168. E.)-Riv. Tetr. 49, Cracca-H. Ox. ii. 4. 1. Leafits rolled in. In corn-fields large and luxuriant, in meadows small and hoary. Blossom sometimes white. Linn. Stem when climbing on bushes three or four feet high, quadrangular, scored, slightly hairy. Branches numerous, short, alternate, from the bosom of the upper-leaves. Leaves alternate, very long; leafits strap-spear-shaped, oftener alternate than opposite, hairy, pointed, from ten to twelve pair. Tendril terminating the leaf-stalk, branched. Stipule half-arrow-shaped, pointed. Calyx bluish, the two upper teeth extremely short, the lowermost longest. Flowers small, very numerous, pendent, closely tiled. Woodw. Blossom bluish purple, with two deeper purple spots at the extremity of keel; standard heart-shaped, without a short point in the notch. Legume with five seeds, (smooth, brown. E.) TUFTED VETCH. (Welsh: Tagwyg bysen. Gaelic: Peasair-luch na coille. able compared with that of V. cracca or V. sepium; though in its natural place of growth, the produce is six times that of either of these Vetches; it is likewise superior in quantity of nutritive matter. Horses, cows, and sheep ate this Vetch with more eagerness than they did the other Vetches or grasses that were on several trials offered to them. Hort. Gram. Apion Viciæ is plentifully found upon it. Scott beautifully describes this elegant climber, which both for foliage, flowers, and general habit, is not exceeded by any in this island. "And where profuse the Wood Vetch clings Round ash and elm in verdant rings, Its pale and azure-pencilled flower The pious and philosophic Paley, in bis evidence of a designed and studied mechanism in the productions of nature, adverting to the general structure of climbing plants, of which the present species affords an excellent illustration, states-"In these plants, from each joint or axilla, issue, close to each other, two shoots; one bearing the flower and fruit, the other, drawn out into a wire, a long, tapering, spiral tendril, that twists itself round any thing which lies within its reach. Considering, that two purposes are here to be provided for, (and together), fructification and support, the fruitage of the plant, and the sustentation of the stalk, what means could be used more effectual, or more mechanical, than what this structure presents to our eyes? Why, or how, without a view to this double purpose, do two shoots, of such different and appropriate forms, spring from the same joint, from contiguous points of the same stalk? It never happens thus in robust plants, or in trees." "We see not (says Ray) so much as one tree, or shrub, or herb, that hath a firm and strong stem, and that is able to mount up and stand alone without assistance, furnished with these tendrils.”—“ Make only so simple a comparison as that between a pea and a bean. Why does the pea put forth tendrils, the bean not; but because the stalk of the pea cannot support itself, the stalk of the bean can ?-We may add also, as a circumstance not to be overlooked, that in the pea tribe these clasps do not make their appearance till they are wanted; till the plant has grown to a height to stand in need of support." Nat. Theol. How instructire are these rational deductions. If one train of thinking be more desirable than another, it is that which regards the phenomena of nature with a constant reference to a supreme intelligent Author:-for "There's nothing bright above, below, From flowers that bloom, to stars that glow, Some feature of the Deity," E.) E.) Hedges, shady places, meadows, fields, and willow-beds, and thickets. P. July-Aug. [(2) Flowers two or more together, nearly sessile. V. SATIVA. Legumens mostly in pairs, upright: leafits inversely spearshaped, blunt, notched: stipule toothed, impressed with a dark spot: seeds compressed, (very smooth. E. Bot. 334. E.)-Kniph. 1-Walc.-Riv. Tetr. 55, Vicia-Fl. Dan. 522— Clus. ii. 235. 1—Dod. 531. 1-Lob. Obs. 522. 3, and Ic. ii. 75. 1-Ger. Em. 1227. 1-Park. 1072. 1-H. Ox. ii. 4. 12—J. B. ii. 310. 2. (Lower-leaves bent back. Stems of various size, climbing or prostrate. Plant more or less hairy. Fl. Brit. E.) Leaves winged; leafits about six pair, opposite, elliptical, blunt, the mid-rib lengthened into a projecting point. Tendril terminating the leaf-stalk, branched. Stipule in pairs, spear-shaped, toothed, marked with a black shining root. Flowers mostly two together. Blossom reddish purple. Woodw. Calyx teeth nearly equal. Seeds black, said to be occasionally found white." COMMON VETCH or TARE. (Irish: Pes capul. Welsh: Ffugbysen maethawl. E.) Dry meadows, pastures, and corn-fields. A. April-June.† Var. 2. Leaves narrower, somewhat strap-shaped. Linn. Riv. Tetr. 54. V. angustif.—Dod. 542. 2-Lob. Obs. 522. 3, and Ic. ii. 75. 2— Ger. Em. 1227. 4-Park. 1071. 1-H. Ox. ii. 4. 11-J. B. 312. Dr. Plot, in his Nat. Hist. Staffordshire, p. 204, says, that this and the preceding species advance starven or weak cattle more than any other provender. (It is hardy, durable, nutritious, and productive, but the seeds do not readily vegetate. It should, therefore, be cultivated by planting out the roots, which are abundant, and easily separated: Salisbury. Mr. Sinclair observes that its strong creeping root must exclude it from arable lands. It might be cultivated in the manner of lucern, than which, though greatly deficient in weight of crop, it is, nevertheless, more nutritive. Though not quite so showy as the preceding species, we cannot but welcome with pleasure this gay enlivener of the lonesome lane, where 66 Purple tassels of the tangling Vetch Hang elegant.' Indeed it is worthy of introduction nearer home in the wilderness or hedges. E.) +(The Common Vetch, (Vicia sativa), has been cultivated as fodder for cattle from time immemorial. Ray informs us, that in 1686, it was sown almost all over Europe, and was chiefly used in England, mixed with pease and oats, to feed horses; but it was sometimes sown separately for soiling cattle, and was reputed to cause milch cows to yield much milk. It is of a hardy growth, and when sown upon rich land, will return a large supply of green fodder for the consumption of horses, or for fattening cattle. Encyc. Agric. E.) In Gloucestershire and Worcestershire it is sown as pasturage for horses, and eaten off early enough to allow of turnips being sown the same year. The seeds are excellent food for pigeons. (Dr. Bevan observes that not only the flowers, but the young spotted leaves of Vetches are peculiarly attractive to bees; (and so likewise those of the bean); a predilection in these natural chemists conjectured to arise from the injured or diseased parts exuding a bonied secretion. E.) Horses, cows, sheep, and goats eat it. (Spring Tares, as sown in March or April, are more upright and tender, but afford fiue summer fodder. Though the seeds are alike in appearance, it is necessary to discriminate the kinds, or the crop may fail altogether. Samples grown in a hot house, or frame, will quickly determine the sorts. Winter Tares, sown at wheat seed-time, remaining all winter, are cut six weeks earlier in the spring. They trail on the ground. Salisbury.-Winter Tares afford most nutritive matter, and are generally preferred. Sinclair.-Livia Cracce frequents this species. E.) More common than Var. 1. So nearly allied to it that there scarcely seems to be any fixed limits between them. Linn. Stem trailing. Leafits more pointed. Stipule marked, but less distinctly, with the burnt dots. Flowers mostly solitary, but of the same colour of those of var. 1. It is clearly a variety of V. sativa, as it may be traced through all its stages from its smallest size up to the largest plants of V. sativa. Woodw. V. lathyroides ẞ, and possibly a. Huds. V. sativa y. Fl. Brit. Sibthorp considers this as a distinct species, and gives the following spe cific character. V. angustifolia. Legumens nearly sessile, about two together, expanding: lower leafits inversely heart-shaped, with a point in the notch; upper ones strap-shaped. Fl. Ox. Smith latterly entertains a similar opinion, but while admitting V. angustifolia of Sibthorp to be the same plant with his own, insists that "those who describe the flowers otherwise than solitary, have confounded this species with V. sativa var." Whereas the author of Fl. Ox. expressly declares his V. angustifolia to have" legumes about two together." How to reconcile this discrepancy we know not, unless by abandoning the supposed new species, and stating, what our specimens would appear to indicate, that neither the size of the plant, the number or colour of the flowers, nor the darker or less apparent spots of the stipula, afford invariable characteristics. E.) Shotover, and divers other places. Ray. (At Weymouth. Sir T. G. Cullum. Among short grass in Richmond gardens. Sir J. E. Smith. In the lanes in the valleys of Dartmoor. E.) A. May. V. SE PIUM. Legumes mostly four together, upright, smooth: leafits egg-shaped, very entire, obtuse, the outer ones gradually smaller. Kniph. 5-(Hort. Gram.-E. Bot. 1515. E.)-Riv. Tetr. 56, V. sepium.— Fl. Dan. 699-Walc.-Trag. 624-J. B. ii. 313. 2-Ger. 1052. 1. and Em. 1227. 2-Fuchs. 110-Matth. 547-Anderson-Lonic. i. 248. 1. (Stems climbing with tendrils, two feet long, furrowed, but little branched. Calyx hairy. Legumen brown, smooth, dotted. Fl. Brit. E.) Stems upright. Leaves alternate, winged; leafits sometimes egg-spear-shaped, opposite; mid-rib lengthened out into a projecting point. Stipule halfarrow-shaped, pointed, small. Tendril branched, terminal. Flowers three or four, in the bosom of upper-leaves. Calyx segments nearly equal. Blossom dull purple. Woodw. sometimes white. BUSH VETCH. (From its habit of climbing up shrubs and bushes for sup◄ port. Welsh: Ffughysen y cloddiau. E.) Woods, hedges, pastures, P. May-June.* meadows. This species shoots earlier in the spring than any other plant eaten by cattle, vegetates late in the autumn, and continues green all winter. But it is difficult to collect the seeds, as the pods burst and scatter them about; and, moreover, hardly a third part of them will vegetate, being made the nidus of an insect. A patch of them sown in drills in a garden, was cut five times in the course of the second year, and produced twenty-four tons per acre of green food, which when dry would weigh nearly four tons and a half. Bath. Soc. iii. Mr. Swayne has since observed to me that, though palatable to all kinds of cattle, it is difficult to cultivate on a large scale, the seeds being generally devoured by the larvæ of a species of Attelabus, (probably A. punctiger (Apion punctifrons, Kirby), said to resort to this Vetch only, E.) which larvæ are the prey of a species of Ichneumon. Apion (Curculio) subsulcatum, is also found upon it. (Mr. Sinclair states horses and oxen to be very fond of it. Its produce is very inferior on a clayey soil. E.) (3) Flowers solitary, nearly sessile. V. LATHYROIDES. Legumes solitary, upright smooth: leafits about six, the lower ones inversely heart-shaped: stipulæ half-arrowshaped, very entire: seeds cubic, warty. E. Bot. Dicks. H. S.-Jacq. Misc. ii. 18-E. Bot. 30-Fl. Dan. 58-Riv. Tetr. 169. V. minima.—Kniph. 3—Herm. Par. 242. Stipule not spotted. Whole plant hairy except the seed-vessels. Root small, fibrous, annual. Stems several, a foot high or less; weak, trailing. Leafits four to six pair, and never more, opposite, the upper ones mostly spear-shaped. Tendrils never branched. Stipule half-arrowshaped, the upper spear-shaped, pointed. Flowers small, bluish purple, sometimes white. The true leading characters of this species are, the blossom being scarcely longer than the calyx, the seeds cubic, and the tendril never branched. Woodw. In the fig. of E. Bot. Fl. Dan. and Kniphofius, the tendrils are wanting; in those of Jacquin and Rivinus they are represented as unbranched, agreeable to Mr. Woodward's observation, but in Dickson's specimens, published in his fourth fasciculas of dried plants, the tendrils are branched. V. lathyroides, var. y. Huds. Ervum soloniense. Sp. Pl. fid. Sm. STRANGLE VETCH or TARE. SPRING VETCH. Dry pastures, gravel pits, and corn-fields, in gravelly, sandy, and chalky soils. King's Park, Edinburgh. Lightfoot. In the dry parts of Hyde Park. Mr. Dickson. Norfolk. Mr. Woodward. (Near Beverley. Teesdale, In the warren at Esher, Surry. Mr. Borrer. Swefling, near the church, and Aldborough Common, Suffolk. Rev. G. Crabbe. Near the signal house at Westleton, Suffolk. Mr. Davy. Bot. Guide. On the chalky banks near Greenhithe. Sherard. Sea shore south of Shields; and salt meadows below Gateshead. Mr. Winch. On the side of the bridle road from Spernall to Studley, Warwickshire. Purton. E.) A. May. V. LU'TEA. Legumes sessile, reflexed, hairy, solitary: stems diffuse: standard smooth: (stipulæ coloured. E.) (Hook. Fl. Lond. 74-E. Bot. 481. E.)-H. Ox. ii. 21. row 2. f. 2—J. B. ii. 313. 1. (Stems one to two feet long. Bloss. sometimes striped, or nearly white. E.) Leaves alternate; leafits three to five pair, mostly alternate, oblong, blunt, and dentate, or strap-spear-shaped. Stipulæ spear-shaped, minute. Tendrils terminal, simple, or divided into two or three. Blossom pale yellow. Seed-vessel woolly. Woodw. (Permanently differing from the still more rare V. hybrida, in the smooth vexillum of the flower, in the dark spot upon the stipule, and in the much less obtuse leaves. D. Turner. E.) ROUGH-PODDED YELLOW VETCH. (On the shore near Shoreham. Mr. J. Middleton. On the beach at Orford, about half a mile from the river's mouth. Mr. Humphrey. Sand pit on the side of Glastonbury Tor Hill. Mr. Dawson Turner. Bot. Guide. About Pinxton and Derby. Pilkington. Near Keswick. Hooker. Sea side west of North Queensferry. Mr. G. Don, in Grev. Edin. E.) (P. Aug. E.) V. HY'BRIDA. Legumes sessile, solitary, reflexed, hairy: standard villous (leafits abrupt. E.) : Jacq. Hort. 146—(E. Bot. 482. E.)-J. B. ii. 314. 1. Leafits inversely egg-shaped, dentate, small, sprinkled with hairs. Stipula not brown, but entirely green. Flowers yellow, greyish above, hairy. In other respects accords with V. lutea. Linn. (Rather taller than the preceding, and less diffuse. Leafits more abrupt. Stipula wholly green. Flowers rather larger, and with a reddish not grayish tinge externally. But the best characteristic is supposed to be the standard being clothed with hairs. E.) (HAIRY-FLOWERED YELLOW VETCH. E.) Meadows and pastures. Glastonbury Tor Hill, as well as V. lutea; Ray and various subsequent authorities, and scarcely any other station known. E. P. June-Aug. V. LÆVIGATA. Legumes sessile, solitary, reflexed, smooth: stems nearly upright leaves very smooth. E. Bot. 483. Leaves and whole plant entirely smooth. Stipule green, or pale brown. Flowers like those of lutea, but their calyx-teeth are generally more equal in length. In colour they are for the most part less yellow, and sometimes quite blue, as represented in the figure, but both species are extremely variable in that respect. Legumes quite smooth in every stage of their growth, and contain rarely more than five seeds. E. Bot. SMOOTH-PODDED SEA VETCH. About Weymouth. (Portland Island, Chesil Bank, &c. E.) P. July-Sept. E.) V. BITHYN'ICA. Legumes on fruit-stalks, solitary, upright, rough: leafits two pair, oval-spear-shaped: stipula toothed. Jacq. Hort. 147-(E. Bot. 1842. E.)—Allioni 26. 2. (Stems many, climbing with tendrils, branched, angular, furrowed, smooth, about eighteen inches long. Leaves in two pairs, with leafits large, eggspear-shaped, sharp-pointed, slightly hairy on the under surface. Stipule large, half-arrow-shaped. Flowers axillary, solitary; on fruit-stalks of various length, very rarely two-flowered. Seeds five or six, roundish, smooth, mottled with black and grey. Fl. Brit. The breadth of the leafits is variable, sometimes approaching to strap-shaped. E.) Seeds protuberating. Flowers, standard and keel reddish purple, wings yellowish white. (ROUGH-PODDED PURPLE VETCH. E.) Gravelly corn-fields, pastures, and ditch banks. Near Doncaster. Mr. Tofield. Woods near Clifton upon Teme, Worcestershire. Dr. Stokes. Portland Island half a mile to the left of the Ferry, on loose sand banks. Mr. Stackhouse. (Isle of Purbeck; and near Southwick, on the cliffs towards Brighton. Mr. Borrer. By the road side about two miles from St. Asaph on the way to Chester. Rev. H. Davies. On most of the red cliffs of the Devonshire coast. Rev. Dr. Beeke, in Bot. Guide. Sunderland Ballast Hills. Mr. Winch. E.) P. July—Aug. ER'VUM.* (Stigma capitate, pubescent all over. E.) E. TETRASPER'MUM. seeds four. Fruit-stalks mostly two-flowered: pods smooth: (From eruo, to pluck out; as necessary to be eradicated from the growing corn; to separate the tares from the wheat. E.) |