Photographs: Barleycove, Co. Cork

Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria Méara Muire Family: Fabaceae Flowering time: May-September. Perennial. Native. Very variable with rounded heads of yellow, orange, pink, white or red flowers with downy white calyx tubes. The seedpods are short, round and flattened and contain a single seed. A semi-prostrate plant, the pinnate leaves with pairs of entire leaflets, a larger terminal lobe and silky-white hairs underneath. Frequent round Irish coasts on grassland, dunes, cliffs and walls. Also found inland on roadsides

Kidney Vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria, Méara Muire