Vicia bithynica

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Vicia bithynica
Vicia bithynica at Seasalter.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Fabeae
Genus: Vicia
Species:
V. bithynica
Binomial name
Vicia bithynica
(L.) L.
Synonyms

Lathyrus bithynicus L.

Ervum bithynicum (L.) Stank.

Vicia bithynica [2] known as Bithynian vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus, initially as Lathyrus bithynicus (as a type of pea) but later moved to the genus Vicia (vetches). [3] The specific name is derived from Bithynia, an ancient kingdom situated on the north coast of Anatolia, in modern day Turkey.

Contents

Description

An annual with climbing stems, scrambling or climbing to about 60 cm tall. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, are up to about 9 cm long, have 2–3 pairs of leaflets, and end in branched tendrils. The petioles are 2 cm long with a large, ovate, dentate stipule at the base. The flowers are arranged in pairs (although sometimes solitary) on long (5 cm) peduncles branching from the leaf axils. The petals are purple and white, 2 cm long, and have 10 stamens and 1 style. The fruit is a hairy pod or legume up to 5 cm long with 4 to 8 seeds. [2] It has 14 chromosomes. [2] [4]

Vicia bithynica is not cultivated for human or livestock consumption. The seeds contain high levels of vicine, [5] which causes favism amongst susceptible individuals. [6]

Habitat

The habitat of V. bithynica is often described as ‘woodland and scrub’ but Bennett & Maxted [7] examined many herbarium specimens for habitat data and concluded that it was most common in calcareous grassland, while others [8] describe it as a weed of agricultural fields. In Greece, it is a native therophyte of dry scrub (phrygana) and grassland. [9]

In Britain, at the northern extremity of its range, it is considered to be a plant of coastal undercliffs, the backs of beaches, bare ground, hedges and old railway lines. [10]

Distribution

Vicia bithynica is widespread around the Mediterranean and in Europe as far north as Scandinavia, and there are isolated populations in the Azores, United States, Australia and New Zealand. [11]

It is common in Turkey and considered to be native there, [4] as it is in Malta, [12] becoming rarer further north. In Britain it is classified as Vulnerable [13] and is declining in abundance, [14] although it is protected in several sites of special scientific interest such as Sheppey Cliffs and Foreshore and Swanscombe Peninsula. [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>Vicia sativa</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia sativa, known as the common vetch, garden vetch, tare or simply vetch, is a nitrogen-fixing leguminous plant in the family Fabaceae. It is now naturalised throughout the world occurring on every continent, except Antarctica and the Arctic. The centre of diversity is thought to be the Fertile Crescent, although gold standard molecular confirmation is currently not available.

<i>Vicia faba</i> Species of plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae

Vicia faba, commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieties with smaller, harder seeds that are fed to horses or other animals are called field bean, tic bean or tick bean. Horse bean, Vicia faba var. equinaPers., is a variety recognized as an accepted name. This legume is very common in Southern European, Northern European, East Asian, Latin American and North African cuisines.

<i>Vicia cracca</i> Species of legume

Vicia cracca, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia. It occurs on other continents as an introduced species, including North America, where it is a common weed. It often occurs in disturbed habitats, including old fields and roadside ditches.

<i>Vicia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other genera of their subfamily Faboideae also have names containing "vetch", for example the vetchlings (Lathyrus) or the milk-vetches (Astragalus). The lentils are included in genus Vicia, and were formerly classified in genus Lens. The broad bean is sometimes separated in a monotypic genus Faba; although not often used today, it is of historical importance in plant taxonomy as the namesake of the order Fabales, the Fabaceae and the Faboideae. The tribe Vicieae in which the vetches are placed is named after the genus' current name. The true peas (Pisum) are among the closest living relatives of vetches.

<i>Vicia ervilia</i> Species of ancient Mediterranean legume crop

Vicia ervilia, called ervil or bitter vetch, is an ancient legume crop of the Mediterranean region. Besides the English names, other common names include: gavdaneh (Persian), kersannah (Arabic), yero (Spanish), rovi (Greek), and burçak (Turkish). The nutritional value of the grain for ruminant cattle has guaranteed the species' continued cultivation in Morocco, Spain and Turkey. The crop is easy to cultivate and harvest and can be grown on very shallow, alkaline soils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicine</span> Chemical compound

Vicine is an alkaloid glycoside found mainly in fava beans, which are also called broad beans. Vicine is toxic in individuals who have a hereditary loss of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. It causes haemolytic anaemia, called favism. The formation of vicine in Vicia faba has been studied, but this natural formation has not yet been found.

<i>Lathyrus aphaca</i> Species of legume

Lathyrus aphaca, known as the yellow pea or yellow vetchling, is an annual species in the family Fabaceae with yellow flowers and solitary, pea-like fruits. It originated in the Middle East and has spread throughout Europe and beyond as a weed of cultivated fields and roadsides. The fruits are eaten as a supplement to diets in some parts of South Asia but are narcotic and potentially toxic in large quantities.

<i>Vicia hirsuta</i> Species of legume

Vicia hirsuta is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae.

<i>Vicia tetrasperma</i> Species of legume

Vicia tetrasperma the smooth tare, smooth vetch, lentil vetch or sparrow vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae.

<i>Vicia sepium</i> Species of legume

Vicia sepium or bush vetch is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. A nitrogen-fixing, perennial, leguminous climbing plant that grows in hedgerows, grasslands, the edges of woodland, roadsides and rough ground. It occurs in western Europe, Crimea of Ukraine, Russia including Siberia, Caucasus and Central Asia. It can also be found in eastern Canada, north-eastern states of the USA and, where suitable habitat occurs, in Greenland. It is native to, and has been recorded in, almost all parts of Britain, Ireland and associated islands.

<i>Vicia sylvatica</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia sylvatica, known as wood vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus.

<i>Vicia lathyroides</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia lathyroides is a plant species in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species. It is an annual herb with pealike blue- or purple-tinged flowers about half a centimeter wide and hairless legume pods up to 3 centimeters long.

<i>Lathyrus linifolius</i> Species of plant

Lathyrus linifolius is a species of pea, commonly called bitter vetch or heath pea. The name bitter vetch is also sometimes used for Vicia ervilia and also for Vicia orobus. The tubers of Lathyrus linifolius were formerly used as an appetite suppressant in medieval Scotland, and this use has brought the plant to recent medical attention. Attempts are being made to cultivate the plant on a commercial scale.

<i>Vicia benghalensis</i> Species of legume

Vicia benghalensis is a species of vetch known by the common names purple vetch and reddish tufted vetch. It is native to southern Europe, North Africa, and nearby islands, and it is utilized elsewhere in agriculture and may be present in the wild as an introduced species. It is an annual herb with a climbing stem which is coated in hairs, often densely, making the plant appear silvery white. Each leaf is made up of several pairs of elongated leaflets which measure up to 3 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a one-side raceme of several dark reddish purple flowers. Each flower has a densely hairy calyx of sepals and a tubular corolla between one and two centimeters in length. The fruit is a flat, hairy legume pod up to 3.5 centimeters long containing multiple seeds.

<i>Vicia menziesii</i> Species of legume

Vicia menziesii is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Hawaiian vetch. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Hawaii. It is threatened by habitat loss and exotic plants. It has been federally listed as an endangered species of the United States since 1978. It was the first Hawaiian plant to be placed on the Endangered Species List.

<i>Vicia orobus</i> Species of legume

Vicia orobus is a species of leguminous plant in the genus Vicia, known as wood bitter-vetch. It is found in Atlantic areas of Europe, especially in the rocky edges of seasonally-grazed fields. It grows up to 60 cm (24 in) tall, and has no tendrils at the ends of its pinnate leaves. Its flowers are white with purple veins, and are borne in groups of 6 or more.

<i>Astragalus danicus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus danicus, known as purple milk-vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes), which is native to Europe.

Vicia canescens is a species of legume in the vetch genus that is endemic to Lebanon.

<i>Vicia grandiflora</i> Species of plant

Vicia grandiflora, commonly known as large yellow vetch and bigflower vetch, as well as large-flowered vetch, is a common herbaceous plant species in the family Fabaceae, which occurs as a native plant species in Europe and Asia, as well as an introduced vetch species in North America.

<i>Vicia peregrina</i> Species of plant

Vicia peregrina, the wandering vetch, is a species of annual herb in the family Fabaceae. They are climbers and have compound, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 0.32 m.

References

  1. McFarlane, D., Osborne, J. & Maxted, N. (2019). "Vicia bithynica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T176111A1432457. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T176111A1432457.en . Retrieved 23 January 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 C. A. Stace, New Flora of the British Isles, 4th edition 2019. ISBN   978-15272-2630-2.
  3. Sell, Peter; Murrell, Gina (2009). Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, vol 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-55337-7.
  4. 1 2 Başbağ, Mehmet (2013). "Vicia taxa in the Flora of Turkey". Anadolu Tarım Bilim. Derg. 28: 59.66. doi:10.7161/anajas.2013.281.59.
  5. Griffith, D.W. (1992). "The Concentration of Vicine and Convicine in Vicia faba and some Related Species and their Distribution within Mature Seeds". J. Sci. Food Agric. 59 (4): 463–468. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740590406.
  6. Warren, Susan. "The Wild Flowers of Skopelos".
  7. Bennett, S.J.; Maxted, N. (1997). "An ecogeographic analysis of the Vicia narbonensis complex". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 44 (5): 411–428. doi:10.1023/A:1008688919569. S2CID   2863256.
  8. Van de Wouw, M. (2001). "Vetches (Vicia L.)". In Maxted, N.; Bennett, S.J. (eds.). Plant Genetic Resources of Legumes in the Mediterranean. Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture. Vol. 39. Springer, Dordrecht. pp. 134–158. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-9823-1_8. ISBN   978-90-481-5613-9.
  9. Dimopoulos, Panayotis (2013). Vascular plants of Greece: An annotated checklist.
  10. Stewart, A.; Pearman, D.A.; Preston, C.D. (1994). Scarce Plants in Britain. Peterborough: JNCC. ISBN   1-873701-66-7.
  11. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. "Vicia bithynica (L.) L."
  12. Mifsud, Stephen. "Vicia bithynica (Bithynian Vetch)". Malta Wild Plants.
  13. Cheffings, C. (2005). The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain. Peterborough: JNCC.
  14. Biological Records Centre. "Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora".
  15. Natural England. "Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), confirmation of notification" (PDF).