Common Ivy vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Hedera helix compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

Common Ivy is Least Concern while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Ivy	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	Araliaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Hedera	Anthyllis
Species	Hedera helix	Anthyllis vulneraria

Evolutionary Relationship

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

View Class: Magnoliopsida

Conservation Status

Common Ivy

LC — Least Concern

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Ivy

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate coniferous forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (5 countries), Asia (4 countries), Europe (6 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (7 countries).

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.

Common Ivy

<em>Hedera helix</em>, commonly known as common ivy or English ivy, is a woody evergreen climber and groundcover in the family Araliaceae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with a very wide global distribution across the Palearctic realm and beyond, encompassing temperate and Mediterranean habitats. The species is native to Europe and western Asia and has been widely introduced elsewhere. It typically grows in woodlands, hedgerows, cliffs, walls, and urban green spaces, tolerating deep shade and a wide range of soil conditions. Common ivy provides important ecological services, offering shelter and late-season nectar and fruit resources for wildlife. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

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.