marsh vetchling

LC - Least Concern

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

not listed

FACW - Facultative wetland

FACW - Facultative wetland

FACW - Facultative wetland

Marsh vetchling is a perennial vine that rises from a slender underground stem (rhizome) and fibrous roots. The roots do not produce starchy swellings (tubers). The vine usually climbs over adjacent vegetation. In the absence of supporting vegetation, it creeps along the ground (trails).

The stems are four angled, unbranched or few branched, and usually hairless, sometimes sparsely hairy. They are often distinctly winged, sometimes narrowly winged. Plants with unwinged but acutely ridged stems that have been called var. myrtifolius have been identified from New York through Wisconsin, but are not known to occur in Minnesota.

The leaves are alternate, evenly pinnately divided usually 6, sometimes 4 or 8 leaflets with a tendril at the end. They are on unwinged, 5 ⁄16″ to 13 ⁄16″long stalks. The tendrils are mostly branched, though some of them may be unbranched. At the base of each leaf there is a pair of small, ½″ to 1″ long or longer, ⅛″ to ⅜″ wide or wider, leaf-like appendages (stipules). The stipules are narrow, asymmetrical, and two-lobed, shaped like an arrowhead split lengthwise. The upper lobe is longer than the basal lobe. They are sometimes shallowly and inconspicuously toothed.

The leaflets are oppositely attached and their shape varies greatly. They are ¾″ to 2¾″ long and ⅛″ to ¾″ wide. They may be linear, narrowly elliptic, narrowly lance-shaped, or elliptic. They are angled at the base and sharply or bluntly pointed at the tip. The upper and lower surfaces are hairless. The margins are untoothed.

The inflorescence is a loose, unbranched cluster (raceme) of usually 2 to 6, rarely up to 9 flowers rising on a long stalk from some of the leaf axils. The inflorescence stalk (peduncle) is 13 ⁄16″ to 2⅜″ long, about as long as the subtending leaf.

The individual flowers are ½″ to ¾″ long and pea-like. They have 5 sepals, 5 petals, 10 stamens, and 1 style. The sepals are united into an ⅛″ long bell-shaped tube at the base then separated into 5 unequal, 1 ⁄32″ to ¼″ long lobes. The upper two lobes are short and triangular, the lowest one long and narrowly lance-shaped, the lateral two intermediate in both size and shape. The 5 petals are reddish-purple and are organized into a broad banner at the top, 2 wings, and a keel in the center formed by two petals fused together at the tip. The banner is egg-shaped to nearly circular and is strongly bent backward. The wings are broadly egg-shaped and are curved around and over the keel. The keel is boat-shaped, shorter than the wings, and curved upward. The flowers are sometimes bicolored, the banner reddish-purple with dark, highly contrasting veins, and the wings and keel white. The stamens have ½″ to 9 ⁄16″ long filaments. Nine of the filaments are fused to ⅜″ above the base, the tenth is free nearly to the base. The anthers are yellow.

The fruit is a linear to narrowly oblong, flattened, 19 ⁄16″ to 2⅜″ long, ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″ wide seed pod with 5 to 10 seeds. It is green at first, becoming reddish-brown to nearly black when ripe.

Climbing, 12″ to 40″ long

Reddish-purple

Wet to moist. Wet prairies, sedge meadows, fens, swamps, marsh borders, streambanks. Full or partial sun.

June to July

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

Native

Common

Several subspecies and/or varieties have been described based on amount of pubescence, leaflet width, and winged or unwinged stem. A study in 1998 (Isley) found that they intergrade completely and are not geographically or ecologically distinct, and therefore have no basis for separation.

Prairie Wild Flower…

Seen this flower today on a Prairie in Norman Co. Mn. I tried finding out what it is but couldn’t find it. It was growing in a moist area. Kind of reminded me of a pea flower that blooms before you get peas. But I am sure it isn’t maybe some wild type pea plant. But I have no clue. It seemed to have little extensions that curled around other plants to help support it. Kind of like pea plants do. Anyway maybe you know what this is.

Location: Norman Co. Mn

Seen this flower today on a Prairie in Norman Co. Mn. I tried finding out what it is but couldn’t find it. It was growing in a moist area. Kind of reminded me of a pea flower that blooms before you get peas. But I am sure it isn’t maybe some wild type pea plant. But I have no clue. It seemed to have little extensions that curled around other plants to help support it. Kind of like pea plants do. Anyway maybe you know what this is.