Family: legumes (Fabaceae)
Blooming time: May–August
Size: 30–60 cm
Habitat: meadows, forests, forest edges, among shrubs, fields and road verges
Hedge vetch (Vicia sepium) climbs over other plants with the help of a tendril at the end of its pinnately compound leaves. Its paripinnate leaves consist of four to eight pairs of ovate leaflets, which taper toward the tip of the leaf. The pale violet to pink flowers are 12 to 15 mm long. They are grouped into two- to five-flowered short-pedicellate inflorescences developed in the leaf axils of the stem leaves. The fruits are 2 to 3 cm long pods, which are initially short-haired, but become hairless as they ripen. Hedge vetch is a common plant, widely distributed throughout Slovenia.
