Common Centaury
Common Centaury - Centaurium erythraea
Variable low to short plant, often with a solitary erect stem, branched above. Leaves elliptical to oval, 3 to 7 veined. Flowers pink to purplish 9 t0 15 mm, scarcely stalked, borne in flat topped, branched clusters.
Grassy habitats, often in dry places, and woodland margins.
June to September
Biennial
Fairly frequent in Britain except the extreme north.
Occasional and quite local in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 63 of the 617 tetrads.
JamesCalow
Croft Hill
17 July 2012
Graham Calow
Sapcote, Land behind William Spencer Avenue
29 June 2022
David Nicholls
Gypsum Works, Barrow
16 June 2018
David Gould
Croft Hill, Leics
17 July 2014
Steve Mathers
Cloud Wood
03/07/2017
David Nicholls
Bardon Hill
03 July 2014
Graham Calow
Measham
07 July 2010
leaves
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Chromatomyia centaurii
The larva of the Agromyzid fly Chromatomyia centaurii mines the upper surface of the leaves of Common Centaury. The mine starts as a gallery, but this is then commonly engulfed by the blotch that then follows. This mine is typically in a basal leaf, near to the ground, but may also move into the stem.