vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Chroococcus varius 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 varius	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 Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

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 varius is a species of cyanobacteria in the family Chroococcaceae. The specific epithet varius, meaning variable or diverse, may reflect the morphological variability of this species across different environmental conditions, a characteristic shared by many cyanobacteria of the genus. Chroococcus species can show considerable plasticity in cell size, sheath color, and colony arrangement depending on growth conditions, which has historically complicated species-level identification. Chroococcus varius has been documented from freshwater and aquatic habitats, contributing to the diverse microflora of lakes, ponds, and slow-moving waters. Like other members of the genus, it consists of spherical cells in pairs or small groups enclosed within a gelatinous matrix. The cells perform oxygenic photosynthesis and contribute to primary production in their aquatic ecosystems. Cyanobacteria of the Chroococcaceae family are among the most ecologically generalist cyanobacterial groups, occupying habitats from polar regions to tropical freshwaters. Chroococcus varius has been recorded from European freshwater localities. The species is not assessed by the IUCN, reflecting the limited application of conservation frameworks to prokaryotic microorganisms.

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.