Family: legumes (Fabaceae)
Bloom time: May–August
Size: 20–100 cm
Habitat: meadows, forests, woodland edges, and among shrubs
The stem and leaflets of the grey vetchling (Vicia incana) are densely pubescent. They are covered with short soft hairs and therefore greyish. Its pinnate leaves consist of 10 to 20 pairs of narrow oval leaflets, the leaf ending in a tendril. It clings to neighboring plants with it and thereby more easily reaches light. At the base of the leaves are two stipules that are not serrated. The purple flowers are 8–12 mm long. For the upper standard petal (the banner) it is characteristic that its claw (the narrower claw-like part) and blade (the expanded and upward-facing part) are of equal length. The flowers form several multi-flowered, long-pedunculated inflorescences.
A single inflorescence arises from the axil of a supporting leaf, which is about as long as the inflorescence. The grey vetchling grows on moist soils in warm habitats scattered throughout Slovenia.
