Common Kidney-Vetch vs Leafless Ballart

Anthyllis vulneraria compared with Exocarpos aphyllus

Key Differences

• Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable while Leafless Ballart is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Kidney-Vetch	Leafless Ballart
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Santalales (Santalales)
Family	Fabaceae	Santalaceae
Genus	Anthyllis	Exocarpos
Species	Anthyllis vulneraria	Exocarpos aphyllus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Leafless Ballart

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Kidney-Vetch	Leafless Ballart
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.

Leafless Ballart

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.