Scleranthus verticillatus Tausch (syn. Scleranthus annuus subsp. verticillatus (Tausch) Arcang.)

Posted byTrajche DimitrovskiPosted inCaryophyllaceae

Taxonomy: Fam. Caryophyllaceae// Genus: Scleranthus// Species: Scleranthus verticillatus Tausch

Determined according to the botanical keys provided by Sell in Tutin et al. (1964) and Micevski (1993) as Scleranthus annuus subsp. verticillatus (Tausch) Arcang., Comp. Fl. Ital. 110 (1882). In The Euro+Med PlantBase (Marhold, 2011+) this taxon is accepted at the species level – Scleranthus verticillatus Tausch in Flora 1: 50. 1829.

Lifeform: Annual; therophyte according to the Raunkiær system.

Distribution: Native to Central and South Europe to Lebanon and Syria according to the distribution information provided by The Euro+Med PlantBase (Marhold, 2011+); also native to South European Russia according to the Plants of the World Online portal – Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (accepted as Scleranthus annuus subsp. collinus (Hornung ex Opiz) Schübl. & G.Martens).

Habitat:  Hill pastures, rocky terrains.

Flowering period: Spring: MAR, APR.

Scleranthus verticillatus – habit. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – habit. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – habit. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – habit. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – flowering stems with inflorescences. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – inflorescence. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – inflorescence. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – stems with leaves. Osogovo – gorge of Kochanska River, 30.03.2025. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – habit. Scale in cm/ mm. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
Scleranthus verticillatus – A, B and C: stems with inflorescence and leaves; D, E and F: stems with lover cauline leaves and basal leaves; G: calyces. Scale in mm. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.

References:

Scleranthus annuus subsp. collinus (Hornung ex Opiz) Schübl. & G.Martens. Plants of the World Online portal, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:3253275-4 [Accessed 05.04.2025].

Scleranthus L. Micevski, K. (1993). The Flora of the Republic of Macedonia Vol. 1, Book 2. Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, pp. 278 – 282.

Scleranthus L. Sell, P.D. in Tutin, T.G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N.A., Moore, D.M., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M., & Webb, D.A. (1964). Flora Europaea. Volume 1. Lycopodiaceae to Platanaceae. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 148 -149.

Scleranthus verticillatus. Marhold, K. 2011+: Caryophyllaceae. – In: Euro+Med Plantbase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published at https://europlusmed.org/. https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/dc9efd9a-c7ae-4246-9028-f0192d5817e7 [Accessed 05.04.2025].