Anthyllis is a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

. This genus contains both herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

aceous and shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

by species and is distributed in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and North Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The most widespread and familiar species is Kidney Vetch (A. vulneraria) which is a familiar grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

 flower throughout the region and has also been introduced to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Anthyllis species are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species including the following case-bearers of the genus Coleophora

Coleophora

Coleophora is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions...

: C. acanthyllidis, C. protecta (both feed exclusively on A. tragacanthoides), C. hermanniella (feeds exclusively on A. hermanniae), C. vestalella (feeds exclusively on A. cytisoides) and C. vulnerariae (feeds exclusively on A. vulneraria).

Species

Species include:

• A. aegaea
• A. aurea
• A. barba-jovis - Jupiter's beard
• A. cornicina
• A. cytisoides
  Anthyllis cytisoides
  Anthyllis cytisoides is a summer-deciduous shrub of Southern Europe, common in the Balearic Islands and the southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It prefers semi-arid limestone soils in areas free of frost the year round.-External links:* *...
  
  
• A. hamosa
• A. henoniana
• A. hermanniae
• A. hystrix
• A. lagascana
• A. lemanniana
• A. lotoides
• A. montana
  Anthyllis montana
  Anthyllis montana is a species of ornamental plant of Europe. A synonym is Vulneraria montana Scopoli.-External links:* *...
  
  
• A. onobrychoides
• A. polycephala
• A. ramburii
• A. rupestris
• A. tejedensis
• A. terniflora
• A. tragacanthoides
• A. vulneraria - Kidney Vetch
• A. warnieri