Stats

Lifespan: Annual
Size: Tiny
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Eurasia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

The Lesser Centaury is a small flowering plant native to southern temperate Europe, known for its slender stems and delicate petals. It is a member of the Gentian family, and differs from its larger relative, the Centaurium erythraea, by lacking a basal rosette of leaves.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Gentianaceae
Genus: Centaurium
Species: Centaurium pulchellum