UAF extension collaborator outlines identification and control options for bird vetch in Wasilla

Gino, a UAF Cooperative Extension collaborator, told the Wasilla Planning Commission on Oct. 14 that bird vetch (a nonnative vining legume) can be identified by its purple flowers arranged on one side of the stem, numerous narrow leaflets on compound leaves and coiling tendrils that allow it to climb trees, fences and other structures. "Bird vetch has those numerous purple flowers...they're all typically on one side of the stem," he said.

Gino summarized the plant's history in Alaska, saying it was planted in experiment stations beginning about 1909 and later used as a green manure and pasture plant before being widely recognized as a weed in the 1980s. He told commissioners that bird vetch spreads along roads and disturbed sites and that maintenance activities—mowing, grading and equipment movement—can move seed or scarify seed in ways that help it establish elsewhere.

The presen…