vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Clitopilus scyphoides compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

is Data Deficient while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Entolomataceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Clitopilus	Anthyllis
Species	Clitopilus scyphoides	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

DD — Data Deficient

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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.

Clitopilus scyphoides is an agaric fungus in the family Entolomataceae found in temperate European woodlands and grassland habitats. The species epithet scyphoides refers to a cup- or goblet-like form ('scyphus' meaning cup in Latin), likely describing the mature cap shape which becomes deeply depressed to funnel-shaped at maturity. Like other Clitopilus species, it produces white to pale cap surfaces, crowded decurrent gills that develop a pinkish tinge from the angular spores as they mature, and typically exhibits a mealy or farinaceous odor. It fruits in autumn in woodland clearings, beech and oak woodland floors, and occasionally in grassy habitats. The Clitopilus genus contains around a dozen recognized European species, some of which resemble the edible sweetbread mushroom C. prunulus. Molecular and morphological studies continue to clarify species boundaries and relationships within the genus. C. scyphoides contributes to the decomposer fungal community in its habitats, processing leaf litter and soil organic matter within temperate European forest and grassland ecosystems.

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.