Coronilla varia L.
crown vetch
Scrambling perennial herb; stems glabrous, ribbed. Lvs glabrous or with short hairs on rachis and petiole and sometimes on mid-veins of leaflets; leaflets shortly petiolulate, ± oblong, truncate and mucronate, in (5)-7-12 ± opposite pairs, 6-20 mm long; stipules subulate, entire, free. Umbels (5)-10-20-flowered; bracts 0; bracteoles subtending fls entire, c. 1 mm long; peduncles > lvs. Calyx glabrous; calyx teeth triangular, much < tube. Corolla light purplish pink, (6)-8-15 mm long. Pod glabrous, oblong, ± straight, tetragonous, (15)-20-60-(80) mm long, with (1)-3-8-(12), 1-seeded segments; seeds smooth, brown, c. 3-4 mm long.
N.: Auckland City; S.: Nelson City, Rangiora.
C. and S. Europe, to Asia Minor and C. Russia 1906
Waste places.
FL Dec-Feb.
C. varia was first recorded as a garden escape in the vicinity of Nelson by Cheeseman (1906), but was not again reported as a naturalised plant until very recently. The sp. is now widely used for stabilising road cuttings and banks; it is often difficult to tell whether plants in such situations are planted or naturalised, but in any case, crown vetch is now likely to become much more widely naturalised.
