PLANT PROFILE

Securigeria varia
crownvetch



Securigeria varia
Securigeria varia
Photos Courtesy Renee Brecht
Botanical name: Securigeria varia
Common name: crownvetch
Group: dicot
Family: Fabaceae
Growth type: forb/herb
Duration: perennial
Origin: introduced
Plant height: creeping, 12-40"
Foliage: leaves unstalked, leaflets 11-25, oblong or oval, broader toward the tip; it spreads rhizomatously.
Flower: pinkish-white to deep pink in long stalked clusters (umbels), 3/8"-1/2"
Flowering time: blooms early June to August; fruit to September
Habitat: weed of waste ground and roadsides
Range in New Jersey: statewide
Heritage ranking, if any: n/a
Distribution:
Misc.: Planted extensively on highway banks for erosion control. It is good forage for deer in the winter, and ground cover for ground-nesting birds. Rabbits use it for food and cover. Plant often becomes weedy and invasive, displacing native vegetation.