Synonyms:

• Basionym: Ervum ervilia L.

Common names:

• bitter vetch  (Source: Dict Rehm) - English
• ervil  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• alliez  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• ers  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• erse  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• ervilière  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• pois de pigeon  (Source: Dict Rehm) - French
• vesce bâtarde  (Source: L Noms French ed7) - French
• Linsenwicke  (Source: Dict Rehm) - German
• Steinlinse  (Source: Dict Rehm) - German
• ervilha-de-pombo  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Portuguese
• gero  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Portuguese
• orobo  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Portuguese
• alacarceña  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
• yeros  (Source: Dict Rehm) - Spanish
• linsvicker  (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish
• Francuzskaja čečevica  (Source: Mansf Ency) - Transliterated Russian

Economic Importance:

• Environmental: soil improver ()
• Human food: pulse (locally cultivated in Morocco, but also see Ladizinsky & van Oss (1984), fide Curr Pl Sci Biotech 34:676. 1999)
• Animal food: fodder ()
• Gene sources: primary genetic relative of bitter-vetch (Vicia ervilia is mostly used for fodder, and all hybrids from crosses of wild and cultivated populations are fertile fide Bot J Linn Soc 89:97, 100. 1984)
• Gene sources: tertiary genetic relative of one-flower vetch (based on probable affinities to Vicia articulata fide Pl Genet Res Char Ut doi:10.1017/S1479262115000623 pages 6, 7. 2015)
• Vertebrate poisons: mammals (to livestock fide Enneking 27. 1995)

Distributional Range:

Native

Africa

• MACARONESIA: Portugal, [Madeira Islands] Spain [Canary Islands]
• NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria (introd.?), Egypt (n.w.), Libya (rare)

Asia-Temperate

• WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq (n.), Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
• CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan, Krasnodar]
• MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Europe

• SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslavia, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sicily)
• SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France, Portugal, Spain (incl. Baleares)


Cultivated (also cult.)

References:

1. Afonin, A. N., S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko, & A. N. Frolov, eds. Interactive agricultural ecological atlas of Russia and neighboring countries. Economic plants and their diseases, pests and weeds (on-line resource). (AgroAtlas)
2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
3. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. Flora of Libya. (F Libya)
4. Allkin, R. et al. 1986. Names and synonyms of species and subspecies in the Vicieae: issue 3 (Vicieae DP) 7:53.
5. Berger, J. D. et al. 2003. Agricultural potential of Mediterranean grain and forage legumes: 2) Anti-nutritional factor concentrations in the genus Vicia Genet. Resources Crop Evol. 50:201-212.
6. Bryant, J. A. & S. G. Hughes 2011. Chapter 14. Vicia (Wild Crop Rel Leg Cr) 273-289.
7. Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. (F Turk)
8. Demilly, D. et al. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7. 2001 (L Noms French ed7)
9. Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981 (Leg WorldEc)
10. Encke, F. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage. 1984 (Zander ed13)
11. Enneking, D. 1995. The toxicity of Vicia species and their utilization as grain legumes 27.
12. Enneking, D. 2011. The nutritive value of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus) and allied species, their toxicity to animals and the role of malnutrition in neurolathyrism Food Chem. Toxicol. 49:694-709.
13. Eriksson, O. et al. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2. (L Macar ed2)
14. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource). (Ecocrop)
15. Francis, C. M. et al. 1999. When and where will vetches have an impact as grain legumes? Curr. Pl. Sci. Biotech. Agric. 34:671-683.
16. Hanelt, P., ed. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6. 2001 (Mansf Ency)
17. Hermann, F. J. 1960. Vetches of the United States - native, naturalized and cultivated U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 168:9.
18. Izquierdo Z., I. et al., eds. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. 2004 (L Canarias)
19. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. Flora SSSR. (F USSR)
20. Ladizinsky, G. & H. van Oss 1984. Genetic relationships between wild and cultivated Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 89:97-100.
21. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium Hortus third. (Hortus 3)
22. Meikle, R. D. Flora of Cyprus. (F Cyprus)
23. Mouterde, P. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie. (F Liban)
24. Pignatti, S. Flora d'Italia. (F Ital)
25. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource). (Pl Names)
26. Quézel, P. & S. Santa Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie. (F Alger)
27. Raveendar, S. et al. 2015. Comparative efficacy of four candidate DNA barcode regions for identification of Vicia species Pl. Genet. Resources Charact. Util. 1-10.
28. Raynaud, C. 1976. Monographie et iconographie du genre Vicia L. au Maroc Bull. Inst. Sci. Univ. Mohammed V. 1:170.
29. Rechinger, K. H., ed. Flora iranica. (F Iran)
30. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994 (Dict Rehm)
31. Schaefer, H. et al. 2012. Systematics, biogeography, and character evolution of the legume tribe Fabeae with special focus on the middle-Atlantic island lineages B. M. C. Evol. Biol. 12:250.
32. Smythies, B. E. Flora of Spain and the Balearic Islands: checklist of vascular plants. Englera 3:1-882. (L Spain)
33. Täckholm, V. Students' flora of Egypt, ed. 2. (SF Egypt)
34. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest Flora of Iraq. (F Iraq)
35. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. Flora europaea. (F Eur)
36. Yakovlev, G. P. et al. Legumes of Northern Eurasia. 1996 (Leg NEurasia)
37. Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan Flora palaestina. (F Palest)

Images:

• Seed: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image