Common Kidney-Vetch vs Common Mint

Anthyllis vulneraria compared with Mentha arvensis

Key Differences

• Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable while Common Mint is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Kidney-Vetch	Common Mint
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Lamiales (Lamiales)
Family	Fabaceae	Lamiaceae
Genus	Anthyllis	Mentha
Species	Anthyllis vulneraria	Mentha arvensis

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Common Mint

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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 Mint

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Asia (4 countries), Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and South America (Brazil).

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.

Common Mint

Common Mint (<em>Mentha arvensis</em>), also known as corn mint or field mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus <em>Mentha</em>, family Lamiaceae. It is widely distributed across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, with confirmed presence in countries including Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, and Czech Republic. Its range encompasses the Seychelles in Africa, four Asian countries, and ten European nations. The species is found across multiple habitat types, including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, dry broadleaf forests, and coniferous forests, occurring within at least four distinct biome types in the Indomalayan realm. Common Mint is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. As a member of the mint family, it typically produces aromatic foliage rich in menthol, and has historically been used in culinary and medicinal applications across many cultures. It typically spreads vegetatively through stolons and rhizomes in addition to producing seed. Detailed measurements of lifespan, length, and weight are not documented in available records.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 9 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇯🇵 Japan 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States