vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Chroococcus minimus compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom	Bacteria (Bacteria)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Cyanobacteriia	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Cyanobacteriales	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Microcystaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Chroococcus	Anthyllis
Species	Chroococcus minimus	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

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, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan.

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.

Chroococcus minimus is a species of cyanobacteria in the family Chroococcaceae, representing one of the smaller-celled members of the genus, as the specific epithet indicates. Chroococcus is a cosmopolitan cyanobacterial genus found across a wide range of aquatic and moist terrestrial habitats globally. The cells of Chroococcus minimus are spherical, very small in diameter, and occur in pairs or tetrads enclosed within a thin, often inconspicuous mucilaginous sheath. Despite their miniature scale, these organisms are photosynthetically active and contribute to primary production in their aquatic environments. Small-celled cyanobacteria like Chroococcus minimus may dominate the picoplankton fraction of oligotrophic freshwater bodies, where their small cell volume provides a favorable surface area to volume ratio for nutrient uptake in nutrient-limited conditions. Chroococcus minimus has been documented from freshwater habitats in Europe and elsewhere. Identification of small-celled Chroococcus species is challenging due to overlapping morphological characteristics and the influence of environmental conditions on cell dimensions. Molecular phylogenetic studies have substantially revised the taxonomy of coccoid cyanobacteria. The species has not been assessed by the IUCN.

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.