Kidney Vetch

Description:

Anthyllis vulneraria (Common kidneyvetch, Kidney vetch, woundwort) is a medicinal plant native to Europe. The name vulneraria means "wound healer." Kidney Vetch is an extremely variable semi-prostrate annual, sometimes bearing yellow flowers, sometimes orange, red, purple or white. These 12-15mm peaflowers are borne in round heads, each little flower being bedded into a woolly, hairy cushion and a leafy, divided bract below it. The leaves comprise pairs of 7-13 narrow leaflets, the terminal leaflet being the largest. It is one of the principal larval foodplants of the Small Blue Butterfly. A native plant, it belongs to the family Fabaceae.

Habitat:

This plant is commonly found by the sea and flowers from June to September. It prefers the dry grasslands and rocky environments with calcareous soil, up to 3000 m of altitude. This one was found flowering on the banks of the Bay of Kenmare, SW Ireland.

Notes:

The kidney shape of the flower heads once was thought to mean that the plant could have a roll in curing kidney complaints. The species name Vulneraria means wound in Latin.