Vicia bithynica[2] known as Bithynian vetch, is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus, initially as Lathyrus bithynicus (as a type of pea) but later moved to the genus Vicia (vetches).[3] The specific name is derived from Bithynia, an ancient kingdom situated on the north coast of Anatolia, in modern day Turkey.
| Vicia bithynica | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Fabeae |
| Genus: | Vicia |
| Species: | V. bithynica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vicia bithynica (L.) L.
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Lathyrus bithynicus L. Ervum bithynicum (L.) Stank. | |
Description
editAn annual with climbing stems, scrambling or climbing to about 60 cm tall. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, are up to about 9 cm long, have 2–3 pairs of leaflets, and end in branched tendrils. The petioles are 2 cm long with a large, ovate, dentate stipule at the base. The flowers are arranged in pairs (although sometimes solitary) on long (5 cm) peduncles branching from the leaf axils. The petals are purple and white, 2 cm long, and have 10 stamens and 1 style. The fruit is a hairy pod or legume up to 5 cm long with 4 to 8 seeds.[2] It has 14 chromosomes.[2][4]
Vicia bithynica is not cultivated for human or livestock consumption. The seeds contain high levels of vicine,[5] which causes favism amongst susceptible individuals.[6]
Habitat
editThe habitat of V. bithynica is often described as ‘woodland and scrub’ but Bennett & Maxted[7] examined many herbarium specimens for habitat data and concluded that it was most common in calcareous grassland, while others[8] describe it as a weed of agricultural fields. In Greece, it is a native therophyte of dry scrub (phrygana) and grassland.[9]
In Britain, at the northern extremity of its range, it is considered to be a plant of coastal undercliffs, the backs of beaches, bare ground, hedges and old railway lines.[10]
Distribution
editVicia bithynica is widespread around the Mediterranean and in Europe as far north as Scandinavia, and there are isolated populations in the Azores, United States, Australia and New Zealand.[11]
It is common in Turkey and considered to be native there,[4] as it is in Malta,[12] becoming rarer further north. In Britain it is classified as Vulnerable[13] and is declining in abundance,[14] although it is protected in several sites of special scientific interest such as Sheppey Cliffs and Foreshore and Swanscombe Peninsula.[15]
References
edit- ^ McFarlane, D., Osborne, J. & Maxted, N. (2019). "Vicia bithynica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T176111A1432457. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T176111A1432457.en. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c C. A. Stace, New Flora of the British Isles, 4th edition 2019. ISBN 978-15272-2630-2.
- ^ Sell, Peter; Murrell, Gina (2009). Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, vol 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-55337-7.
- ^ a b Başbağ, Mehmet (2013). "Vicia taxa in the Flora of Turkey". Anadolu Tarım Bilim. Derg. 28: 59.66. doi:10.7161/anajas.2013.281.59.
- ^ Griffith, D.W. (1992). "The Concentration of Vicine and Convicine in Vicia faba and some Related Species and their Distribution within Mature Seeds". J. Sci. Food Agric. 59 (4): 463–468. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740590406.
- ^ Warren, Susan. "The Wild Flowers of Skopelos".
- ^ Bennett, S.J.; Maxted, N. (1997). "An ecogeographic analysis of the Vicia narbonensis complex". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 44 (5): 411–428. doi:10.1023/A:1008688919569. S2CID 2863256.
- ^ Van de Wouw, M. (2001). "Vetches (Vicia L.)". In Maxted, N.; Bennett, S.J. (eds.). Plant Genetic Resources of Legumes in the Mediterranean. Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture. Vol. 39. Springer, Dordrecht. pp. 134–158. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-9823-1_8. ISBN 978-90-481-5613-9.
- ^ Dimopoulos, Panayotis (2013). Vascular plants of Greece: An annotated checklist.
- ^ Stewart, A.; Pearman, D.A.; Preston, C.D. (1994). Scarce Plants in Britain. Peterborough: JNCC. ISBN 1-873701-66-7.
- ^ Global Biodiversity Information Facility. "Vicia bithynica (L.) L."
- ^ Mifsud, Stephen. "Vicia bithynica (Bithynian Vetch)". Malta Wild Plants.
- ^ Cheffings, C. (2005). The Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain. Peterborough: JNCC.
- ^ Biological Records Centre. "Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora".
- ^ Natural England. "Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), confirmation of notification" (PDF).