vetch

vetch

vetch common name for many weak-stemmed, leguminous herbs of the genus Vicia of the family Leguminosae ( pulse family). The vetches are chiefly annuals, distributed over temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and of South America. Most of the species cultivated for food and forage are Old World in origin. The common vetch ( V. sativa ), also called spring vetch, is a purple- or pink-flowered climber native to Europe, where it is grown for fodder. It is extensively grown on the Pacific coast and in other sections of the United States for green fodder and hay and as a cover and green-manure crop. The hairy vetch ( V. villosa ), used almost as widely, is a hardy biennial with narrower, silvery leaves and blue flowers. Valued as an enricher of the nitrogen content of soil, it grows almost anywhere in the United States and is considered the best legume to plant where red clover does not thrive. It is also known as sand, Siberian, Russian, and winter vetch. Vetch seed is often inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria when grown in soil of low fertility. In areas of grain cultivation vetches sometimes escape into grainfields and become weedy pests. In Europe the principal cultivated species of Vicia is the broad bean ( V. faba ), the only edible bean native to the Old World. Tare is a common name sometimes used as a synonym for any vetch, most frequently for the common vetch. Vetches are classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

Bibliography: See bulletins of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

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"vetch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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vetch

vetch (fruit of a) plant of the genus Vicia. XIV. ME. fecche, ficche and vecche — AN., ONF. veche = OF. vece (mod. vesce):- L. vicia.
Hence vetchling plant of the genus Lathyrus. XVI; see -LING1.

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T. F. HOAD. "vetch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "vetch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-vetch.html

T. F. HOAD. "vetch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-vetch.html

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vetch

vetch / vech/ • n. a widely distributed scrambling herbaceous plant (genus Vicia) of the pea family that is cultivated as a silage or fodder crop.

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"vetch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"vetch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-vetch.html

"vetch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-vetch.html

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vetch

vetch Old term applied generally to legumes; originally Vicia spp., also called tares.

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DAVID A. BENDER. "vetch." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAVID A. BENDER. "vetch." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-vetch.html

DAVID A. BENDER. "vetch." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-vetch.html

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vetch

vetch See VICIA.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "vetch." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "vetch." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-vetch.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "vetch." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-vetch.html

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vetch

vetchetch, fetch, ketch, kvetch, lech, outstretch, retch, sketch, stretch, vetch, wretch •backstretch

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"vetch." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"vetch." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-vetch.html

"vetch." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-vetch.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Vetch mulch fetches more veggies. (organic mulching)
Magazine article from: Agricultural Research; 5/1/1995
New vetch for northern climes--and organic growers.
Magazine article from: Agricultural Research; 4/1/2008
It's the cup that cheers in the great history of Vetch.(Sport)
Newspaper article from: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales); 1/17/2005

Facts and information from other sites

vetch images
vetch. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)