Frühlings-Krokus vs Gemeiner Wundklee

Crocus vernus compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

  • Frühlings-Krokus is Not Evaluated while Gemeiner Wundklee is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Frühlings-Krokus Gemeiner Wundklee
Kingdom same Plantae (Pflanzen) Plantae (Pflanzen)
Phylum same Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants) Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class Liliopsida (Monocots) Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order Asparagales (Spargelartige) Fabales (Schmetterlingsblütenartige)
Family Iridaceae Fabaceae
Genus Crocus Anthyllis
Species Crocus vernus Anthyllis vulneraria

Evolutionary Relationship

Frühlings-Krokus and Gemeiner Wundklee share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Magnoliophyta. (Flowering Plants)

Conservation Status

Frühlings-Krokus

NE — Not Evaluated

Gemeiner Wundklee

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Frühlings-Krokus Gemeiner Wundklee
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Frühlings-Krokus

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Found across Europe (12 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Gemeiner Wundklee

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.

Frühlings-Krokus

<em>Crocus vernus</em>, commonly known as the common crocus or spring crocus, is a small bulbous perennial plant in the family Iridaceae. Native to Europe, it has been widely cultivated and naturalized across North America. Common crocus typically grows in alpine meadows, subalpine grasslands, and woodland edges, often emerging through snow in early spring, making it one of the earliest flowering plants of the season. The flowers are solitary and cup-shaped, appearing before the leaves, and range in color from white and lilac to deep purple. The species has long been cultivated as an ornamental plant and is one of the parents of many garden crocus cultivars. Its corms are eaten by rodents and its flowers provide an early-season nectar source for bees and other pollinators. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Gemeiner Wundklee

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.

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