Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Centaurium pulchellum

Family

Gentionaceae

Flowering season

June to October

English distribution

It is found all round the coast.

Inland it occurs mainly in the South 

See the BSBI distribution map for Lesser Centaury

Habitat

It grows in dry, open, disturbed grassland on coasta

l undercliffs, dunes and upper zones of saltmarshes.

Inland it grows on heaths, open grassland, disturbed

ground and open woodland.

Description

Lesser Centaury is a native, annual, hairless, erect herb,

growing up to 20cm.

Flowers are in loose clusters on short stems (pedicels).

They are 5- or 4-merous and usually have narrow, reddish-

pink petals up to 9mm.. Sometimes they are white.

There is one style with 2 bushy, creamy-yellow stigmas

which fall early.

There are 4 or 5 yellow, linear stamens, which twist spirally

and shrivel after producing pollen.

The corolla tube is slightly longer than the calyx.

The stem leaves are up to 2cm with the upper leaves

slightly bigger than the lower.

There is a basal rosette of leaves at the time of flowering.

The stem is erect and branches from below the middle of

the stem.