Anthyllis vulneraria
Anthyllis vulneraria, the common kidneyvetch, kidney vetch or woundwort is a medicinal plant native to Europe. The name "vulneraria" means "wound healer". Description. "Anthyllis vulneraria" reaches of height. The stem is simple or more often branched. The leaves are imparipinnate, glabrous or with scattered hairs on the upper face and silky hairs on the underside. The flower heads are spherical in shape and long. The petals are yellow in most sub-species, but red in "A. vulneraria" var. "coccinea". Flowering takes place between June and September. The fruit is a legume. The fruits ripening takes place from July  to October. Kidney vetch is the food plant of the small blue butterfly larvae and the leaf miner, "Aproaerema anthyllidella". Distribution and habitat. This plant is sporadic throughout Europe, from Iceland to the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor up to Iran, in North Africa and in Ethiopia. It is naturalized in North America. It prefers the dry grasslands and rocky environments with calcareous soil, up to 3000 m of altitude. Subspecies. This species includes numerous subspecies (which some authors elevate to the role of separate species). A very incomplete list is as follows: