The common centaury, also known as the European centuary, is a flowering plant in the gentian family. It is a biannual plant, meaning it can live for two years. It is found throughout most of Europe and can also be found in parts of western Asia and North Africa. Like many other plants, it is now found in areas well outside its range such as in North America and eastern Australia.
In Malta it is frequent in late spring and in summer. Its pink flowers are easily seen, especially since it flowers when most of the annual plants have dried up. In Maltese, it is known as ċentawrija kbira.
The common centaury is an important plant because of its medicinal properties. It is a strong antioxidant and, in many parts of Europe, it is made into a tea and drunk by individuals with gastric and liver diseases. In fact, another common English name for the plant is feverwort.
The flowers can also be used to make a yellow-green dye.
The gentian family consists of about 1,600 species, ranging from trees shrubs to herbs and features a wide range of colours, shapes and sizes. Many species have medicinal properties or are cultivated as garden plants.
Four members of this family can be found in the Maltese countryside. The lesser centaury (ċentawrija żgħira) and the slender centaury (ċentawrija tal-virga) have similar pink flowers to the common centuary, while the yellow-wort (ċentawrija safra) has yellow flowers.
The family is named after the Illyrian king Gentius. Gentius ruled the Ardiaean State, which was located in present-day Albania, between 181 and 168BC. The plant family was given his name because it was believed that he discovered that some species in the gentian family had medicinal properties and could be used as a tonic.
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