Israel wildflowers: Branched centaury

Centaurium tenuiflorum, Centaurium umbellatum, Branched centaury, Slender centaury,

Hebrew: ערבז דק-פרחים, Arabic: قنطريون دقيق الزهر

Scientific name:   Centaurium tenuiflorum (Hoffmennsegg & Link) Fritsch
Synonym name:   Centaurium umbellatum Gilib.
Common name:   Branched centaury, Slender centaury
Hebrew name:   ערבז דק-פרחים
Arabic name:   قنطريون دقيق الزهر
Plant Family:   Gentianaceae, ערבזיים


Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve
Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   15-50 cm in height; branched densely from base or middle
Leaves:   Opposite, entire, smooth
Flowers:   Pink
Fruits / pods:   Capsule; seeds numerous, reticulate, minute
Flowering Period:   April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana, Humid habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve

Derivation of the botanical name:

Centaurea, gets its name from the centaur, Chiron, who is said in mythology to have taught us the healing power of herbs.

tenuiflorum, with slender flowers.
The Hebrew word: ערבז, arbaz is named by Immanuel Löw (1854 – 1944), a Hungarian rabbi, scholar and politician, following the name of the plant in the Syrian language, in his book “The Flora of the Jews”.

  • The standard author abbreviation Hoffmanns is used to indicate Johann Centurius Hoffmann Graf von Hoffmannsegg (1766–1849), a German botanist, entomologist and ornithologist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Link is used to indicate Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (1767–1851),a German naturalist and botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Fritsch is used to indicate Karl Fritsch (1864–1934), an Austrian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Gilib. is used to indicate Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert (1741–1814), a French botanist.



Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve