LARGE VETCH.
Vicia gigantea, Hook. Pea Family.
Climbing. Stems.—Five to fifteen feet long. Leaves.—Alternate; pinnate; terminated by a tendril. Leaflets.—Ten to thirteen pairs; linear-oblong; obtuse; mucronulate; one or two inches long. Stipules.—An inch long; semi-sagittate. Racemes.—Dense; one-sided; five to eighteen-flowered. Flowers.—Dull red. Corolla.—Papilionaceous. Petals not spreading. Stamens.—Nine united; one free. Style.—Hairy all around under the stigma. Pod.—An inch or so long. (See Leguminosæ.) Hab.—From San Francisco Bay northward to Sitka.
This vine is usually found in moist places. Its blossoms are never attractive for they have a faded, worn-out look, even when they are fresh. The pods are black when ripe, and the seeds are said to be edible.
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