Can you identify this weed/flower? It just appeared.

Sheila Cook
by Sheila Cook
It's taking over, crowding my Clematis and comes back 3 yrs. now.
  10 answers
  • Looks like Vicia villosa or some sort of crown vetch. It is highly invasive and the seeds can be dormant for years. I would remove the spent flowers and try to pull out at the roots. Good luck!
  • Iberkeley Iberkeley on Oct 23, 2015
    Yes, I think it's Crown Vetch, too, which does indeed multiply quickly. I also would get rid of it unless you have a meadow.
  • MaryAnn B MaryAnn B on Oct 23, 2015
    looks like vetch to me. nasty stuff. may be a wildflower but weed to me.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Oct 23, 2015
    Its for sure crown vetch. You should try to pull this out as this wiid flower will over take the clematis.
  • Elizabeth Roy Elizabeth Roy on Oct 24, 2015
    I have had this appear in my back yard for the past couple of years too. Although invasive, the bees and butterflies LOVE it. Makes me hesitate to remove it. Therefore I only remove some of it and leave the rest. The purple looks beautiful against my black eyed Susan and Echinacea (sp) plants.
  • Lisa Lisa on Oct 24, 2015
    It is cow vetch and yes very hard to get rid of as the roots are runners and seem to be made of elastic :) Whenever you pull them they just break, Have this in my gardens and it is very hard to get rid of.
  • Cookie K Cookie K on Oct 24, 2015
    Purple Crown Vetch. I think it's too beautiful to call it a weed, but in many states it is considered a noxious weed, and must be eradicated to prevent its invasion, especially for farmers.
  • Eunice_champion Eunice_champion on Oct 24, 2015
    Looks like a buddleja bush.
  • Sheila Cook Sheila Cook on Oct 25, 2015
    Thank you!
  • Keith Widgington Keith Widgington on Oct 26, 2015
    Definitely cow or purple vetch. Very difficult to get rid of. It crowds out other plants by climbing all over the plants appearing to suffocate them. I have seen plants covered in vetch to the point they looked cacooned. Remove as soon as you see it crawling on the ground.