02/09/2026
Common vetch (Vicia sativa) is a scrambling annual legume found across much of southern Australia. Also known as garden vetch, winter vetch or wild vetch, it was introduced from Eurasia and is now naturalised in several Australian states. It is also deliberately cultivated as a forage crop, grain legume and green manure. It is a close relative of the commonly cultivated broadbeans (Vicia faba)
How to identify common vetch
Common vetch belongs to the pea family, Fabaceae, and has the characteristic appearance of a small climbing pea plant.
It is usually an annual herb with slender, weak stems that may scramble through grasses and other vegetation or climb using tendrils. The stems can reach approximately 1 metre. Its leaves are compound, generally consisting of several pairs of small leaflets, with the leaf stalk ending in a tendril. Depending on the plant and subspecies, there may be four to ten or more pairs of leaflets.
The flowers are the easiest feature to recognise. They are the typical pea-shaped flowers and can be pink, crimson, violet or reddish-purple, although colour varies. Flowers commonly occur singly or in small groups from the leaf axils (where the leaf meet the stalk)
After flowering, the plant produces narrow, flattened pea-like pods, 2-4 centimetres long. Mature pods become yellow-brown to dark brown and contain several rounded or slightly compressed seeds. The pods of Vicia sativa are particularly useful for confirming identification because they are noticeably constricted between the individual seeds.
Where does it grow in Australia?
Common vetch is most widespread in southern Australia. It is naturalised in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and parts of Queensland. It commonly occurs in agricultural areas, pastures, roadsides, disturbed ground and other places where grasses and herbs grow.
Check the full article about this edible wild plants on my website, https://www.diegobonetto.com/blog/common-vetch-how-to-identify-forage-and-eat-in-australia
