| Centaurium | |
|---|---|
| Centaurium erythraea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Gentianaceae |
| Genus: | Centaurium Hill |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
Centaurium (formerly Erythraea) is a genus of 20 species in the gentian family (Gentianaceae), tribe Chironieae, subtribe Chironiinae. The genus was named after the centaur Chiron, famed in Greek mythology for his skill in medicinal herbs. It is distributed across Europe and into Asia.
Until 2004, Centaurium was given a much wider circumscription, comprising about 50 species ranging across Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australasia and the Pacific. However this circumscription was polyphyletic, so in 2004 the genus was split in four, being Centaurium sensu stricto, Zeltnera, Gyrandra and Schenkia.
Under the older circumscription, the common name for plants in this genus was Centaury. It is not yet clear how this name will be applied under the new circumscription: whether for the same set of plants regardless of the taxonomic changes, or for the new circumscription of the genus Centaurium.