#742 Coronilla varia Common Names: crown vetch Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (bean Family) Get link to this Profile or click for Datasheet

Crown vetch has large showy flower heads that range in color from very light to very dark pink.

Location
Crown vetch is native to central and southern Europe. It is widely cultivated as a ground cover and for erosion control in temperate areas of the world, and has become naturalized in much of the U.S. and southern Canada, in some areas totally dominating pastures and abandoned fields.

Culture
Light: Full sun.
Moisture: Crown vetch thrives with regular watering and hangs on during droughts.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 - 9.
Propagation: Crown vetch is grown from seed which usually germinates quickly. Seed should be inoculated with the appropriate legume bacteria. Crown vetch seed can be sown right into grassy or weedy areas without soil preparation.

This planting of crown vetch is controlling erosion along a Kentucky highway (where it is also listed by that state's Exotic Pest Plant Council List as posing a "severe threat").

Features
Crown vetch is a legume which gets its nitrogen directly from the air with the help of symbiotic bacteria that live in association with its roots. Thus it does not require nitrogen fertilizer. Learn more about nitrogen fixing in legumes in the Floridata profile for garden peas (Pisum sativum).

WARNING
Crown vetch can be invasive under favorable conditions. The Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council and similar organizations in many other states list crown vetch as a "significant threat" to native plant communities. It is listed as an invasive plant in Ontario, Canada as well. Crown vetch may smother out desirable perennials in its path.

Steve Christman 7/22/00; updated 3/16/04

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