West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Slender instead has flowers in groups of 1 to 4 and pale-bluish-purple flowers. Smooth Tare only has 1 or 2 flowers which have these dark veins that Slender Tare lacks.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (03/07/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Slender instead has flowers in groups of 1 to 4 and pale-bluish-purple flowers. Smooth Tare only has 1 or 2 flowers which have these dark veins that Slender Tare lacks.

West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. My little and very manky finger showing just how tiny this flower is. The flowers of Slender Tare (which is anyway very rare) are larger than this. My horse grabbed hold of some foliage that had this in it - I didn't pick it but grabbed it for analysis in the house.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (17/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. My little and very manky finger showing just how tiny this flower is. The flowers of Slender Tare (which is anyway very rare) are larger than this. My horse grabbed hold of some foliage that had this in it - I didn't pick it but grabbed it for analysis in the house.

West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. A distinguishing feature is the calyx teeth which are unequal with the upper two shorter than the calyx tube. Hairy Tare instead has them the same length. They do have some hairs on the calyx, but not as much as Hairy Tare. This is quite a pale specimen, they are normally more bluey/purple than this.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (03/07/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. A distinguishing feature is the calyx teeth which are unequal with the upper two shorter than the calyx tube. Hairy Tare instead has them the same length. They do have some hairs on the calyx, but not as much as Hairy Tare. This is quite a pale specimen, they are normally more bluey/purple than this.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (03/07/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex.

New Hall Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. The giss of the plant. Lots of foliage and few flowers which are easy to overlook as they are so small.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (09/06/2022) New Hall Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. The giss of the plant. Lots of foliage and few flowers which are easy to overlook as they are so small.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (16/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (16/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Makro shot of the underside of the keel.

West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. You can actually see the anthers with pollen just peeking out in this blurry image.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (16/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. You can actually see the anthers with pollen just peeking out in this blurry image.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (09/06/2022) Woods Mill Nature Reserve, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex (owl box field). Top down view.

West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Has unbranched tendrils and 3-6 sets of leaflets (Hairy Tare has branched tendrils and 6-8 pairs of alternating leaflets). My horse grabbed hold of some foliage that had this in it - I didn't pick it but grabbed it for analysis in the house.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (17/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Has unbranched tendrils and 3-6 sets of leaflets (Hairy Tare has branched tendrils and 6-8 pairs of alternating leaflets). My horse grabbed hold of some foliage that had this in it - I didn't pick it but grabbed it for analysis in the house.

West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Classic seed pod, petals still surrounding it. They are very flat when they are young and fatten as the seeds inside mature.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (17/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. Classic seed pod, petals still surrounding it. They are very flat when they are young and fatten as the seeds inside mature.

West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. They have around 4 seeds, so are longer than the short, 2 seeded, Hairy Tare. You can clearly see the developing seeds inside - the pod will fatten as they mature.

Smooth Tare (Ervum tetraspermum / Vicia tetrasperma) (17/06/2021) West Mill Lane, Small Dole, Henfield, W Sussex. They have around 4 seeds, so are longer than the short, 2 seeded, Hairy Tare. You can clearly see the developing seeds inside - the pod will fatten as they mature.