June 11, 2016

Many-seeded Slender Tare


This is a very tiny vetch, after flowering it is nearly invisible, unless you really look for it in a calcareous meadow. Many-seeded Slender Tare (Ervum gracile) has a rather long name for such a small plant. 





With some difficuly you can see it is infested by aphids. There were three or two flowers on every flower stalk but only one developed into a seed pod. In this species often the flowerstalk ends in a little point above the flowers or pods.


Two weeks ago it was still in full bloom, with slender curved tendrils.










Now the pods develop. They are a bit transparent and you can see there is a row of several seeds, yes, it is many-seeded for such a small vetch.




 
Dewdrups glisten in the morning sun on leaves, tendrils and seedpods.