3-6-2026 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SLENDER CENTUARY (Centaurium tenuiflorum)

Centaurium tenuiflorum, the slender centaury, is a species of annual herb in the family Gentianaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 17 cm tall. It is native to the Mediterranean basin, Western Asia to the Transcaucasus, Iran, and western Himalayas, Macaronesia, Great Britain, the Crimean Peninsula, Chad, and Socotra.

The species was first described as Erythraea tenuiflora by Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg and Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link in 1813. In 1907 Karl Fritsch reassigned it to genus Centaurium as Centaurium tenuiflorum.[1]

Subspecies

Four subspecies are accepted.

Centaurium tenuiflorum subsp. acutiflorum (Schott) Zeltner – Mediterranean basin to Crimea, Iran, Transcaucasus, and western Himalayas

Centaurium tenuiflorum subsp. anglicum T.C.G.Rich & McVeigh – southern Great Britain

Centaurium tenuiflorum subsp. tenuiflorum – Mediterranean basin, Chad, Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, and Socotra

Centaurium tenuiflorum subsp. viridense (Bolle) O.Erikss., A.Hansen & Sunding – Cape Verde Islands