マメ科ソラマメ科の二年草で、学名は Vicia angustifolia。英名は Common vetch、Narrow-leaved vetch。
The Common vetch (Vicia angustifolia) belongs to Fabaceae (the Pea family). It is a biennial herb that is distributed from Honshu to Shikoku, Kyushu in Japan and the temperate area in Eurasia. This herb grows in sunny roadsides and fields and can reach 50-90 cm in height. The leaves are pinnate compound and the leaflets are 3-7 pairs, narrow obovate. THe have triple bifurcate cirruses at the tips. The peduncles are borne on the axiles and bloom the magenta papilionaceous flowers from March to June. The fruits are seed pods 4-5 cm long.