Common Vetch: The 47th Flower of Spring!

All over our property, we have these flowers blossoming everywhere right now, and I just love them! For years I thought these were called Wild Sweetpeas until I did some research and realized that a) this is called Common Vetch, and b) we have a close relative which is entirely different (and beautiful), and c) we don't even HAVE Wild Sweetpeas growing here!! :D :D And Wild Sweetpeas aren't even very close relatives...I couldn't have been more incorrect all these years! :D Silly me!! :D I have to say, it's been really great doing this Flowers of Spring project because I'm learning SO MUCH about the plants and flowers here! (animals too!)

Common Vetch is considered a weed, but in livestock fields, it's a very nutritious addition to the grass they eat. In fact, this relative of the pea is specifically planted for this very reason, and is known to fatten up cattle better than most grass or other feed. It can actually be too rich and if there's too much vetch growing in a field, animals can get colic and other stomach problems by overeating. In ancient times, humans used to eat vetch, and remains dated back to Neolithic times have shown vetch as part of the diet of the time! The same evidence has been found in ancient Egypt, Rome, and the Bronze Age. Incidentally, just because it's usually only fed to livestock, the tips of new stems and the flowers are said to be quite nice to eat in salads!

If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)

Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)