Common Kidney-Vetch vs Goose Barnacle

Anthyllis vulneraria compared with Lepas anserifera

Key Differences

Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable while Goose Barnacle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Kidney-Vetch	Goose Barnacle
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Maxillopoda (Maxillopoda)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Pedunculata (Pedunculata)
Family	Fabaceae	Lepadidae
Genus	Anthyllis	Lepas
Species	Anthyllis vulneraria	Lepas anserifera

Conservation Status

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Goose Barnacle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Kidney-Vetch	Goose Barnacle
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.

Goose Barnacle

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and Oceania, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

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.