Securigeria varia
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Photos Courtesy Renee Brecht |
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| 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. |