Vicia ludoviciana Nutt.
Family :Fabaceae
Longevity :Annual
Origin :Native
Season :Cool
Deer Pea Vetch is an annual plant with climbing stems 6-36 inches long. The lavender-blue flowers are less than 1/4 inch in length. The leaves are pinnately compound and grow to 3 inches long with 6-12 seperate leaflets. The fruit is a flat pod, 3/4-1 inch long. Deer Pea Vetch is valuable as a nutritious browse for widlife and as a soil builder through nitrogen fixation. This plant is located in the South Texas Plains and Edwards Plateau areas. It blooms from March to May. The leaves and seeds are eaten by white-tailed deer, cattle, bobwhite quail, and Rio Grande turkeys.
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