Hello nature enthusiasts ! 🌼 It’s that special time of the month “Wildflower Nature Journey” when we immerse ourselves in the wonderful world of wildflowers. Let’s captivate ourselves with the pristine beauty that nature generously presents. 🍃
Wildflower Nature Journey 04.24 – A dedicate post to an in-depth exploration of the wildflowers that adorn our landscape this month. From the graceful wild violet to the majestic Turk’s cap lily, let’s discover the secrets of these wild gems together.
We all love wildflowers, but it’s important to respect their natural habitat. Share practical tips on how to enjoy these wonders without causing harm to the environment. From etiquette during hikes to taking photos instead of picking flowers, let’s learn to be respectful stewards of nature.
Wrap up our monthly journey with some reflections on the connection between humans and nature. Wildflowers not only offer us an extraordinary visual experience but also an opportunity to contemplate the beauty and fragility of life.
“Wildflower Nature Journey 04.24”- Episode 4
Vicia villosa, is a plant native to some of Europe and western Asia. It is a legume, grown as a forage crop, fodder crop, cover crop, and green manure.
Flowers: April to September (Lombardy region – Italy). Inflorescence of 20 to 60 flowered, dense, one-sided racemes, on long, axillary peduncles. Flowers 15-18 mm. long, reddish-purple to violet. Calyx less than half the length of the corolla, the tube 2.5-4 mm. long. Very strongly gibbous at the base, the pedicel attached just under the bulge. Upper 2 calyx teeth triangular-based but prolonged to a slender tip; lower 3 linear and about equal to the tube; style densely bearded at the tip.
Organic gardeners often plant hairy vetch (a nitrogen-fixing legume) as a companion plant to tomatoes, as an alternative to rotating crops in small growing areas.
This plant is quite common in Lombardy. It is a rustic species. It grows along roadsides, in the meadows, grasslands, prairies, and other disturbed open areas. The plant is easily recognizable in nature, especially during the flowering period. It is not difficult to find several plants very close together that create a rather large reddish-purple to violet color zone. A flower perhaps little known but characteristic and beautiful to look at.
Hairy vetch is very similar to tufted vetch (Vicia cracca), the most noticeable difference being that tufted vetch has a smooth stem.
This flower, like the flower of the previous month (Cornus mas), was also among the first flowers to be photographed in macro and close up.
Photos with: Sony A6000 with LAOWA 65mm Macro F2.8 | Sony A6400 with LAOWA 65mm F2.8.
Vicia villosa (1)
Vicia villosa (1)
Vicia villosa (2)
Vicia villosa (2)
Vicia villosa (3)
Vicia villosa (3)
Vicia villosa (4)
Vicia villosa (4)
Vicia villosa (5)
Vicia villosa (5)
Vicia villosa (6)
Vicia villosa (6)
