| Scientific Name: | Vicia cracca |
| Common Name: | tufted vetch, bird vetch |
| Family Name: | Fabaceae |
| Origin: | Europe |
| Hardiness Zone: | Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C) |
| Plant Type: | Herbaceous perennial, Invasive plant, Vine or climber, Weed (horticultural) |
| Mature Size: | 1.3 - 2.0m x 2 - 3m (height x width) |
| Habit: | Spreading |
| Form: | Climbing |
| Texture: | Fine |
| Landscape Uses: | Wildlife food |
| Exposure: | Full sun, Part sun/part shade |
| Soil or Media: | Rocky or gravelly or dry, Well-drained |
| Leaves: | Compound, Alternate, Soft flexible, Glabrous, Even-pinnate, Lanceolate, Entire |
| Flowers: | Raceme, Violet, May-Jun-Jul-Aug-Sep-Oct |
| Fruit: | Legume, Brown, Jul-Aug-Sep |
| Key ID Features: | |
| Aggressive choking weed; leaves pinnately compound with 12-24 linear leaflets, most 11-24mm long x 3-5mm wide, some at blade ends form as branched tendrils; racemes axillary, with 20-70 narrow flowers on one side, violet to reddish-purple; legumes 1.5-3cm long, brown- nearly black, each with 4-8 seeds. | |