The plant’s height often reaches 60 centimetres. Its leaves are large, paripinnate with two or four pairs of oval-shaped slightly pointed leaflets. They look as if faded, because they often bend downwards. The flowers are papilionaceous. They are gathered in the apical raceme of several flowers – usually from three to eight. The petals of the spring vetchling are of different colours: they can be of any shade – from purple to violet. If the flower turns blue, it means that it is the oldest in the inflorescence.

The spring vetchling belongs to the second wave of flowering forest plants — this period falls on April-May. The vetchling is one of the early honey plants, which gives a lot of nectar and pollen to bees. The plant grows a high stem, and then flowers bloom on the peduncle. The grass flowers after such primroses as lungwort, snowdrops, hyacinths and others. The colour of the corolla changes its colour at different stages of flowering: at first it is crimson-purple, but it may become blue-green. The vetchling’s fruit resembles a pod and is up to five centimetres long. If it becomes dark brown or black, then the fruit is ripe. The ripe pod opens, its folds curl and then it spreads the seeds.