Nigella arvensis

Nigella arvensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Ranunculaceae
Genus:	Nigella
Species:	N. arvensis
Binomial name
Nigella arvensis L.
Synonyms [1]
List Nigella agrestisJ.Presl & C.Presl Nigella asperaK.Koch Nigella doliataPall. ex M.Bieb. Nigella foeniculaceaDC. Nigella glaucaWallr. Nigella laevisDelile ex DC. Nigella latifoliaMill. Nigella tenuifloraGilib. Nigella tuberculataGriseb. Nigella tuberculata var. saronensisZohary Nigella unguiculataStokes

Nigella arvensis, the field nigella or wild fennel flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. ^[2] It is native to North Africa, central, southern and eastern Europe, the Caucasus region, and the Middle East as far as Iran, and has gone extinct in Switzerland and Crete. ^[1] It is a minor crop, used locally as a substitute for Nigella sativa , black caraway. ^[3]

Subtaxa

The following subtaxa are accepted: ^[1]

• Nigella arvensis var. anatolicaZohary – Turkey
• Nigella arvensis var. iranicaZohary – Iran
• Nigella arvensis subsp. latilabris(Zohary) Greuter & Burdet – Israel
• Nigella arvensis var. longicornis(Zohary) C.C.Towns. – Turkey, Levant, Iraq
• Nigella arvensis subsp. negevensis(Zohary) Greuter & Burdet – Israel
• Nigella arvensis var. oblanceolataP.H.Davis – Turkey
• Nigella arvensis subsp. palaestina(Zohary) Greuter & Burdet – Turkey, Levant
• Nigella arvensis var. simplicifoliaZohary – Iraq

Gallery

• 
  Botanical illustration
• 
  Close-up of flower
• 
  In its habitat

References

1. "Nigella arvensis L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
2. "Nigella arvensis wild fennel flower". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
3. Weiss, E. A. (2002). Spice Crops. Cabi Publishing. p. 357. ISBN   9780851996059.