Fabaceae

Vicia nigricans ssp. gigantea

Giant Vetch

Sprawling or climbing, with very little or no hair. Leaf divided pinnately, with 16–24 leaflets pointed or rounded at tip and descending in size upward; main leaf vein ends in a tendril. Flowers on stalk, not as long as leaves, with 2–16 flowers clustered at tip. Flowers purple-red or variegated yellowish white. Seedpods black, hairless. Found along streambanks, coastal bluffs, at edges of forests near coast.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: All Spring And Summer
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: Vines 2--6 feet
• Habitat: Coastal, West-Side Forest
• Found In: Olympic Np, West Gorge, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes