CROWN VETCH: A TRULY INVASIVE SPECIES

CROWN VETCH

Thursday, 8:30 AM.  49 degrees F at the ferry dock, 47 on the back porch.  Wind NNE, very light with light gusts.  The sky has a very low overcast, it is raining and foggy, the humidity 96%.  The barometer is more or less steady, at 30.08".  The high today will be in the mid-fifties, then it is  forecast to be clear and warmer for the next week. with chances of thunderstorms on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  This is like living in Seattle.
   Crown vetch, Coronilla (syn. Securigera) varia, in the Legume Family, a native of Eurasia and North Africa, has been used for a number of years as a roadside and freeway plant to control erosion.  Although it does that job very well, it is extremely invasive, and once established is almost impossible to eradicate.  It forms a heavy, creeping mat that spreads and out-competes other vegetation.
   Its clusters of pink, clover-like flowers are deceptively attractive, as is the fern-like foliage, but it is like amercian vetch on steroids.  Rogue it out as soon as you encounter it, or it will take over your garden.
   The first time I saw Crown Vetch was in the late 1960's when we were seeking plants to landscape Milwaukee freeways.  We planted a patch to see if it was hardy.  Boy, was it ever!  It is now listed as an invasive plant in Wisconsin and many other states.