Carolina vetch, Carolina wood vetch
Vicia caroliniana

Family: Leguminosae

What it is like

Vicia caroliniana is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.6 m (2ft in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. The flowers are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. It is noted for attracting wildlife. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.6

Where it is found

Acid soils on rocky slopes, rocky woods, ridges, streambanks.

Native to the United States, V. caroliniana is now found throughout the eastern half of the country, from Texas east to Florida and north to New York and Minnesota. It is also found in Ontario, Canada.

Conservation Status: Not Listed.

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 2

In the US, the Cherokee use Carolina wood vetch for a variety of medicinal purposes. It is used for back pains, local pains, to toughen muscles, for muscular cramps, twitching and is rubbed on stomach cramps. They also use a compound for rheumatism, for an affliction called "blacks", and it is taken for wind before a ball game (Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975 Cherokee Plants and Their Uses). An infusion is used for muscle pain, in that it is rubbed on scratches made over the location of the pain. An infusion is also taken as an emetic. It is also used internally with Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium ssp. obtusifolium for rheumatism.

Other

Rating: 4

Invertebrates shelter: beneficial for insects and other arthropods. Nectary: provides nectar or pollen for beneficial insects. Host plant for Northern Cloudywing butterfly. Seeds may be eaten by songbirds. Nitrogen Fixer. Dynamic accumulator.

Dynamic accumulator: Plants that gather minerals or nutrients from the soil and store them in a more bioavailable form and in high concentration in their tissues. Used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.

How it is grown

An attractive perennial, herbaceous vine generally sprawling, occasionally climbing stems with tendrillate leaf tips. Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) to partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours). There is some suggestion that it can take deep shade but we have been unable to confirm this. Soil Drainage: moist and well-drained, occasionally Dry. Flower Color: Pink, White. Flower Bloom Time: Spring. Flower Description: Light pinkish white, pea-like flowers appear in spring. This plant has an extreme flammability rating. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. Herbaceous. Growth habit is a single or multiple shooting vine from a crown.

Propagating it: Seed.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 3-9

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Wood Vetch, Carolina Vetch

Synonyms

No synonyms are recorded for this name.