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Glite Dictionary
Vicia sepium

Vicia sepium

9.9
A small plant with thin stems and purple flowers that often grows in hedges
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : vicia sepium
  • The purple flowers of Vicia sepium add color to many European meadows in spring.

Examples

  • Vicia sepium often grows as a weed in hedges, making it a common sight in rural areas.

  • Gardeners sometimes struggle to control Vicia sepium because it spreads quickly.

  • Vicia sepium can often be found growing wild along country hedgerows.

  • The Vicia sepium blooms beautifully in spring.

  • Many gardeners consider Vicia sepium a nuisance.

  • In spring, the striking purple flowers of Vicia sepium can be seen decorating many hedgerows.

  • Gardeners frequently find Vicia sepium difficult to manage due to its rapid growth in gardens.

Synonyms

vetch
vsVicia sepium
  • Specialized
1 9.7

A climbing plant like a pea with small flowers used to feed animals and improve soil

refers to one distinct European species rather than the whole group
bush vetch
vsVicia sepium
  • UK
9.9

A European climbing plant with thin stems and purple flowers often growing as a weed in hedges

is the specific species name for that same plant

Surface Forms

Vicia sepium singular
Vicia sepiums plural

Morphology

Vicia + sepium

This is a Linnaean binomial (genus + specific epithet) where the meaning is technically compositional: Vicia = vetch and sepium is a Latin epithet (roughly ‘of hedges’), so someone who knows both constituents could infer ‘a vetch that grows in hedges’. However, the epithet is Latin and not a normal English word, so a typical B1 learner would lack the morphological/Latin knowledge to make that inference without prior exposure, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Vicia sepium comes from Latin words: Vicia means 'vetch' and sepium means 'of the hedges'. So the name shows a vetch that grows in hedges, which explains why this plant is often found wild along country hedgerows.