Crown Vetch

Here is another beach find, though it is not just a coastal plant. The flowers look like it is from the pea family, and it is. The Crown Vetch is one of the flowering plants that help to bring nitrogen to the soil. It was originally from Europe but is now naturalized here in this country. It was planted along roadsides to help with erosion but quickly spread and now is considered a management problem because it can quickly take over places that native plants grow. It is now found in remnant prairie land, and hay fields, pastures and at the edges of woodlands. The seeds they produce can be dormant and viable in the soil for up to fifteen years.

Where I found it : along the roadside