Common Vetch

An annual weed of lesser maintained turf surfaces, especially with a thin more open sward, and which grows over a turf surface, effectively scrambling over the grass. Its scientific name is Vicia sativa. Its leaves are lightly hairy, typically with 3 to 6 pairs of leaflets. The main flowering period is May to September, having bright pink to purple coloured flowers. It prefers a more neutral soil pH, which may also include a clay loam soil which is moist to wet over the autumn-winter to early spring period but can dry out thereafter. It prefers light-shade, if any, to sunny conditions, but not full shade conditions.