Centranthus DC.
Annual, or rhizomatous perennial herbs woody at base. Lvs simple and entire to irregularly toothed or divided. Cyme flat-topped or pyramidal. Fls conspicuous and overtopping bracts. Calyx with numerous linear segments inrolled at flowering but developing into a plumose pappus at fruiting. Corolla ± zygomorphic with 1- and 4-lobed lips, or actinomorphic; tube spurred at base or gibbous near middle. Stamen 1. Fr. dorsiventrally flattened with 1- and 3-veined faces, usually glabrous.
9 spp., Mediterranean, S. Europe, Asia Minor, N. Africa. Naturalised sp. 1.
Richardson, I. B. K., Bot. Jour. Linn. Soc. 71: 211-234 (1975), has revised the genus and his treatment is followed here. The generic name is sometimes spelt Kentranthus.
