Centaurium pulchellum (Sw.) Druce

Branched centaury (en), Petite-Centaurée délicate (fr), Petite-centaurée délicate (fr), Érythrée élégante (fr), Érythrée jolie (fr), Petite-centaurée jolie (fr), Erythrée élégante (fr), Petite-centaurée élégante (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Gentianaceae > Centaurium

Characteristics

Plants 4-10(-25) cm tall, glabrous. Stems simple to much branched, obscurely 4angled. Leaves sessile; lower leaves elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 0.6-1.7 cm × 3-6 mm, base rounded, apex obtuse, veins 1-3 and abaxially distinct; upper leaves elliptic-lanceolate, 0.6-2 cm × 2-7 mm, base rounded and nearly clasping, apex acuminate, acute, or mucronate, veins 1-3. Cymes laxly dichotomous or racemose. Pedicel 3-5 mm, slender, 4angled. Calyx lobes subulate or linear-lanceolate, 2.5-3 mm, apex acuminate, midvein distinct or strongly crested. Corolla white, pink, or purple, 1.3-1.5 cm; lobes narrowly oblong, 2.7-3.2 mm, margin entire, apex obtuse. Filaments 1.5-2 mm; anthers ellipsoid, 0.5-0.7 mm. Style 2-2.5 mm. Capsules ellipsoid, 7.5-9 mm. Seeds blackish, globose, 0.2-0.3 mm in diam. Fl. and fr. May-Jul.
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Annual herb. Stem usually branching from below middle, with 2–4 internodes below branches, 5–25 cm high. Basal leaves absent at flowering. Stem leaves sessile, ovate to lanceolate, becoming longer upwards, 5–15 mm long, 2–10 mm wide, acute. Inflorescence a rather open, regularly-branched, dichasium; branches erecto-patent, divergent from axis at up to 45°; pedicels 1–5 (–10) mm long. Flowers (4-or) 5-merous, c. 5–8 mm diam. Calyx lobes to 7 mm long. Corolla bright rose pink, rarely white; tube c. 6–10 mm long, not narrowly constricted; lobes c. 3–4.5 mm long. Stamens (4 or) 5; anthers c. 1–1.2 mm long, rarely more. Ovary c. 7 mm long; style c. 1–2 mm long; stigmas ±capitate. Capsule c. 8–10 mm long. Seeds 0.15–0.25 mm diam., reticulate, light to dark reddish brown, sub-translucent.
Annual, much branched, often from the base, to 2 dm, without a rosette; principal lvs sessile, lanceolate or lance-ovate, 1–2 cm; infl many-fld, comparatively dense, with short internodes; pedicels mostly 3–5 mm; cal ca 9 mm; cor-tube slightly exceeding the cal, its lobes pink, 4 mm; anthers oval, under 1 mm, not coiled; 2n=36. Native of Eur., locally intr. in fields and waste places in our range. June–Sept.
A herb.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.05 - 0.18
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 2-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-9

Usage

The leaves are used to flavour drinks.
Uses medicinal
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Diuretic (unspecified), Enteritis (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Gastritis (unspecified), Pregnancy (unspecified), Diabetes (unspecified), Puerperium (unspecified), Parturition (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -12
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Centaurium pulchellum habit picture by Pierre LEON (cc-by-sa)
Centaurium pulchellum habit picture by Pierre LEON (cc-by-sa)
Centaurium pulchellum habit picture by Paul FRANCK (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Centaurium pulchellum leaf picture by Pierre LEON (cc-by-sa)
Centaurium pulchellum leaf picture by Pierre LEON (cc-by-sa)
Centaurium pulchellum leaf picture by Manon Bounous (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Centaurium pulchellum flower picture by stefania Masala (cc-by-sa)
Centaurium pulchellum flower picture by Martijn Meelker (cc-by-sa)
Centaurium pulchellum flower picture by Cor van der Poel (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Centaurium pulchellum world distribution map, present in Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Greece, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Turkey, United States of America, and South Africa

Conservation status

Centaurium pulchellum threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:366703-1
WFO ID wfo-0000594018
COL ID S7WP
BDTFX ID 15599
INPN ID 89852
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Microcala pulchella Cicendia pulchella Erythraea altaica Erythraea anatolica Erythraea arenaria Erythraea caspica Erythraea gerardii Erythraea inaperta Erythraea morieri Erythraea pumila Erythraea sparsiflora Sabatia pulchella Gentiana pulchella Centaurium anatolicum Centaurium caspicum Centaurium ramosissimum Chironia gerardii Chironia minor Chironia nana Chironia pulchella Chironia ramosissima Chironia ramosissima Chironia vaillantii Erythraea emarginata Erythraea pulchella Erythraea pumila Erythraea pyrenaica Erythraea ramosissima Gonipia pulchella Hippion pulchellum Hippocentaurea emarginata Chironia intermedia Gentiana ramosissima Erythraea nana Erythraea pulchella Erythraea variabilis Hippocentaurea inaperta Hippocentaurea pulchella Centaurium pulchellum var. caspica Centaurium pulchellum var. hermannii Centaurium pulchellum subsp. meyeri Centaurium pulchellum var. morierei Centaurium pulchellum var. muelleri Erythraea pulchella var. muelleri Erythraea ramosissima var. meyeri Centaurium pulchellum var. pulchellum Chironia maritima Chironia inaperta Centaurium pulchellum

Lower taxons

Centaurium pulchellum var. altaicum Centaurium pulchellum subsp. grandiflorum