• East view from Crissy Field overlook with old Coast Guard station on left and city on right

    Presidio of San Francisco

    California

Giant Vetch

(Vicia nigricans ssp. gigantea)
 
Giant Vetch
Giant Vetch on serpentine of the coastal bluffs.
Will Elder, NPS
 

Origin Of Genus Name: Vicia is Latin for "vetch."

Presidio Locations: Found in disturbed areas.

Range In State: Throughout California.

Description: This native perennial species of the Pea Family has 10 to 16 leaves consisting of 5 to 8 pairs of linear to oblong-linear leaflets, often toothed or lobed, on smooth stems with many tendrils. The numerous leaflets distinguish it from other pea-like climbers. The drooping flowers are red to lavender-purple and grow in clusters of 6 to 15. Blooms April to June.

Native Californian Uses: The Ohlone used a decoction of the roots as a purgative and the foliage as camouflage during deer hunting.

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Did You Know?

Albert Sidney Johnston

Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of the Pacific branch of the army, prepared the defenses of the San Francisco Bay and ordered the first garrison of Fort Point. Kentucky-born Johnston then resigned his commission to join the Confederate Army; he was killed at the battle of Shiloh in 1862.