Gentianaceae
Centaurium

Centaurium pulchellum (Sw.) Hayek ex Hand.-Mazz., Stadlm., Janch. & Faltis

First published in Oesterr. Bot. Z. 56: 70 (1906)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Europe, Medit. to Sahara and Xinjiang. It is an annual and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2014) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 2: Lythraceae to Campanulaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Erect glabrous annual up to 30 cm high
Morphology Stem
Stem simple, 4-angled, narrowly winged
Morphology Leaves
Leaves in 2‒4 (rarely up to 6) pairs below the lowermost inflorescence-branch, oblong to narrowly ovate-oblong, obtuse, 0.5‒2 cm long, up to 0.6 cm wide
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers pink, pedicellate in a loose terminal cyme, cyme-branches spreading at a wide angle
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx lobes 5 (in depauperate plants sometimes 4), linear-subulate, ± 5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla-tube ± 10 mm long, limb 5- (rarely 4) -lobed, lobes narrowly ovate-oblong, ± 4.5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens inserted in throat
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
Stigma distinctly 2-branched
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule about as long as calyx.
Ecology
Barren plain, sometimes salty, gypsaceous dry hills, fields, roadsides, banks of irrigation ditch, dry shady mountain slopes, sometimes by spring or near water; up to 1500 m alt.
Phenology
Flowering and fruiting: Apr.–Jul.
Distribution
Europe, N and NE Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sinai, Ethiopia, Somalia), Arabia, Socotra, Cyprus, Turkey, Caucasus, Iran, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, NW India to China and Mongolia; introduced in North America. Common in steppe region of Iraq, extending up into the forest zone and down into the desert region.
Note
Dwarf Centaury. Bové records the name SEMOUM (SIMŪM) from Sinai (Bové 90).
[FIQ]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164149/16703816

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Erect annual, up to c. 20 cm tall, often branched near the base
Morphology Leaves
Basal leaves oblong-spathulate, obtuse or rounded at the apex, sometimes forming loose rosettes; stem leaves oblong, 5–30 x 3–15 mm, obtuse to shortly acute at the apex, narrowing±abruptly at the base
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers in ± many-flowered cymes or sometimes solitary; pedicels up to 5(–17) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx-lobes 7–9 mm long, linear-subulate, a little shorter than the corolla-tube, narrowing into a fine point at the apex, keeled on the back
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla pink or occasionally white; tube 8–12 mm long, slightly narrowed near the apex; lobes 3–5.5 mm long, obtuse to subacute at the apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary narrowly oblong; stigma-lobes oblong
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule c. 10–12 x 2–2.5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds c. 0.3 x 0.2 mm, pitted.
Distribution
N1, 2 Socotra, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, North Africa, Europe and eastwards to China, introduced in North America.
Ecology
Altitude range 1400–1600 m.
Note
The distinction between C. pulchellum and C. tenuiflorum (Hoffmanns. & Link) Fritsch, another widespread annual species, needs further study.
[FSOM]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. (Eds). (2013-2019). Flora of Iraq, Volumes 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0. Kew Publishing
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images