Vicia Sativa

Vicia sativa, known as the Common Vetch, Tare or simply "the vetch", is a nitrogen fixing leguminous plant. Although considered a weed when found growing in a cultivated grainfield, this hardy plant is often grown as green manure or livestock fodder. There is no firm evidence that this is the same as the "tare" in some English translations of the Bible (as in the "Parable of the Tares") – ryegrass (Lolium) is another candidate.

There are at least four subspecies generally accepted:

• Vicia sativa ssp. cordata
• Vicia sativa ssp. nigra – Narrow-leaved Vetch (= ssp./var. angustifolia, ssp. consobrina, ssp. cordata, ssp. cuneata, ssp. heterophylla, var. minor, var. nigra)
• Vicia sativa ssp. sativa (= var. linearis, ssp. notata)
• Vicia sativa ssp. segetalis (sometimes included in ssp. nigra)