Seasonal Wild Flowers

Broad Bean

Vicia faba

Horse Bean

Fabaceae

May to August

It is common in the Midlands, East Anglia, the Southeast,

the South and the near Southwest. It is thinly scattered

elsewhere.

See the BSBI distribution map for Broad Bean

It is a casual, which grows on waste ground, rubbish

tips and, as shown here, in grassland just above a

shingle beach.

It is a relic or escape from culivation and is usually

short-lived in the wild, but may persist for several

years.

It is a neophyte which has been grown in the UK

since 1200.

Broad Bean is a robust, nitrogen-fixing, annual

herb growing, up to 1m or so.

The flowers are white with a purple-black patch.

Leaves are broad ovals.

The stem is square.

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Broad Bean, grassland, Cogden, Dorset

Flower clusters

Flowers

Leaves, square stem