Gagea minima (L.) Ker Gawl. (syn. Gagea arvensis (Pers.) Dumort.)

Posted byTrajche DimitrovskiPosted inPlant families

Taxonomy: Fam. Liliaceae// Genus: Gagea// Species: Gagea minima (L.) Ker Gawl.

Determined according to the botanical key provided by Richardson (1980 in Tutin et al.) as Gagea arvensis (Pers.) Dumort., Fl. Belg. 140 (1827). According to The Euro+Med PlantBase (Raab-Straube, Peruzzi, & Tison, 2022+), this name is a synonym of Gagea minima (L.) Ker Gawl., Quart. J. Roy. Inst. 1: 180. 1816.

Distribution: Native from Europe to Caucasus and Syria according to the distribution information provided by the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

Lifeform: Perennial plant. Geophyte according to the Raunkiær system.

Habitat: Ruderal areas, near cultivated land, roadsides.

Flowering period: Spring (MAR, APR).

Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 26.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – stem with cauline leaves and inflorescence and basal leaves. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – upperpart of plant – stem with cauline leaves and inflorescence. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – upperpart of plant – stem with cauline leaves and inflorescence. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – upperpart of plant – stem with cauline leaves and inflorescence. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – upperpart of plant – stem with cauline leaves and inflorescence. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – flowers. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – flowers. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – flowers. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – flower. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – flower. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – outer side of perianth segments. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – outer side of perianth segments. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – pedicels and flowers. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – spent flowers. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – cauline leaves, pedicels and bracts. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – abaxial side of cauline leaf. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – adaxial side of cauline leaf. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – basal leaves. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – basal leaf. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – basal leaf. Ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Specimen from the ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Gagea minima – habit. Specimen from the ruderal area near village of Beli, 27.03.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

References:

Gagea minima (L.) Ker Gawl. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:535585-1 [Accessed 28.03.2022].

Gagea minima. Raab-Straube, E. von, Peruzzi, L. & Tison, J.-M. 2022+: Gagea. – In: Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/daab1b9b-8c24-4c1d-aa9f-a5dee665db28 [Accessed 26.03.2026].

Gagea minima. The Euro+Med PlantBase. Source: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (2010), copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetail.asp?NameId=9419&PTRefFk=8000000 [Accessed 28.03.2022].

Richardson, I. B. K. 1980. Gagea Salisb. In Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A. (eds.), Flora Europaea. Volume 5. Alismataceae to Orchidaceae (Monocotyledones). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 26–28.

Last update: 26.03.2026.