Schenkia spicata(L.) G.Mans.

spiked centaury

WFO wfo-0001275170 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 6 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 6 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Schenkia spicata, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. a Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-06-20 / obs. 148489922
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Виктория Билоус
fig. b Виктория Билоус, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150717913
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Ljaž
fig. c Ljaž, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145779220
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Виктория Билоус
fig. d Виктория Билоус, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145603786
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Ljaž
fig. e Ljaž, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145779302
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Виктория Билоус
fig. f Виктория Билоус, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145604003
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Виктория Билоус
fig. g Виктория Билоус, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145603949
Schenkia spicata, photographed by Виктория Билоус
fig. h Виктория Билоус, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150759887

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 38 botanical countries

Regions where Schenkia spicata is native: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaEgyptLibyaMoroccoTunisiaAfghanistanCyprusEast Aegean Is.IranIraqKazakhstanKirgizstanLebanon-SyriaPalestineSinaiTadzhikistanTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanPakistanBulgariaCorseFranceGreeceItalyKritiKrymNW. Balkan Pen.PortugalRomaniaSiciliaSouth European RussiaSpainTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine BalearesSardegna
Native distribution of Schenkia spicata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Baleares BAL EUROPE
Bulgaria BUL
Corse COR
France FRA
Greece GRC
Italy ITA
Kriti KRI
Krym KRY
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Portugal POR
Romania ROM
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Palestine PAL
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Egypt EGY
Libya LBY
Morocco MOR
Tunisia TUN
Pakistan PAK ASIA-TROPICAL

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 24 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Centaurium babylonicum (Griseb.) Druce
  • Centaurium emporitanum Sennen
  • Centaurium spicatum (L.) Fritsch
  • Centaurium spicatum var. brachyantha R.Fern.
  • Centaurium spicatum var. brachyanthum R.Fern.
  • Centaurium spicatum var. condensata R.Fernández
  • Centaurium spicatum var. condensatum R.Fern.
  • Centaurium subspicatum (Velen.) Ronniger
  • Centaurium subspicatum Druce
  • Centaurodes spicatum (L.) Kuntze
  • Chironia spicata (L.) Willd.
  • Erythraea babylonica Griseb.
  • Erythraea pickeringii Oakes ex A.Gray
  • Erythraea pickeringii Oakes
  • Erythraea spicata (L.) Pers.
  • Erythraea spicata f. albiflora H.Lindb.
  • Erythraea spicata var. ramosissima Artemczuk
  • Erythraea spicata var. tamanica Artemczuk
  • Erythraea subspicata Velen.
  • Gentiana spicata L.
  • Hippion spicatum F.W.Schmidt
  • Libadion spiciferum Bubani
  • Schenkia spicata var. ramosissima (Artemczuk) Shiyan
  • Schenkia spicata var. tamanica (Artemczuk) Shiyan

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol CESP3. public domain. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.