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hairy vetch

American  

noun

  1. a plant, Vicia villosa, of the legume family, native to Eurasia, having hairy stems and violet and white flowers, widely grown as forage and as a cover crop.


Etymology

Origin of hairy vetch

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Another is cover cropping, which involves planting crops such as oats or hairy vetch during the winter so fields never lay bare and exposed.

From Scientific American

Common choices include buckwheat, annual rye, hairy vetch and clovers, and they can be used in no-till gardens or in conventional ones.

From Washington Post

Common choices include grasses and legumes such as hairy vetch and clover.

From Seattle Times

They chose hairy vetch, a legume that, like its cousins peas and beans, develops root nodules.

From Washington Post

Cover crops such as cereal rye, hairy vetch and winter triticale can cut nitrate loss about 30 percent in areas that rely on underground field tile, according to the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

From Washington Times