vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Baeomyces placophyllus compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

• is Endangered while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Baeomycetales (Baeomycetales)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Baeomycetaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Baeomyces	Anthyllis
Species	Baeomyces placophyllus	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

EN — Endangered

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Common Kidney-Vetch
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Baeomyces placophyllus is a crustose lichen with a thick, squamulose thallus bearing distinctive, unbranched podetia topped with pale, flesh-colored apothecia. It inhabits bare, acidic mineral soils in open heathland, moorland, and alpine environments in temperate and boreal Europe. This lichen is considered endangered due to habitat loss from soil stabilization and grassland improvement.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Common Kidney-Vetch (<em>Anthyllis vulneraria</em>) is a flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat degradation and agricultural intensification across parts of its range. It is widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (nine countries), North America (Canada and the United States), and Oceania (Australia), occupying six distinct biome types and occurring within the Indomalayan and Oceanian biogeographic realms. The species typically grows in dry, calcareous grasslands, coastal cliffs, sand dunes, and rocky slopes, often favoring nutrient-poor soils. It is an important larval food plant for certain butterfly species, particularly the Small Blue butterfly in Europe, and contributes to soil fertility through nitrogen fixation via root nodules. Its cheerful yellow, orange, or red flower heads make it a recognizable component of chalk and limestone grassland communities. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden