Cape cheesewood vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Pittosporum viridiflorum compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

• Cape cheesewood is Least Concern while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cape cheesewood	Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apiales (Apiales)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Pittosporaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Pittosporum	Anthyllis
Species	Pittosporum viridiflorum	Anthyllis vulneraria

Evolutionary Relationship

Cape cheesewood and Common Kidney-Vetch share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Cape cheesewood

LC — Least Concern

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cape cheesewood

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Guinea, India, Jamaica, and United States.

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.

Cape cheesewood

The Cape cheesewood (Pittosporum viridiflorum) is a species in the genus Pittosporum. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

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 1 countries:

🇺🇸 United States