Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Vicia tetrasperma (L.) Schreb.

Synonyms

Ervum tetraspermum L.

Family

Fabaceae (Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory)
Fabaceae: sub-family Faboideae (New South Wales)
Leguminosae (South Australia)
Papilionaceae (Western Australia)

Common Names

four-seed vetch, four-seeded slender vetch, four-seeded vetch, lentil tare, lentil vetch, slender vetch, smooth tare, smooth vetch, sparrow vetch

Origin

Native to northern Africa, the Canary Islands, Europe, the middle-east, western Asia, northern Asia and the Indian Sub-continent.

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in south-eastern Australia (i.e. in some parts of eastern New South Wales, in Victoria and Tasmania, and in the southern and south-eastern parts of South Australia). Also occasionally naturalised in south-eastern Queensland, near Perth in south-western Western Australia, in the inland parts of southern New South Wales, and on Norfolk Island.

Widely naturalised elsewhere, including in New Zealand and large parts of North America (i.e. Canada and the USA).

Notes

Slender vetch (Vicia tetrasperma) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria.