''Pycnocomon'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s belonging to the family

Caprifoliaceae The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species in 33 to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and easte ...

. They were formerly placed in the defunct family of

Dipsacaceae The Dipsacaceae were recognized as a family (the teasel family) of the order Dipsacales containing 350 species of perennial or biennial herbs and shrubs in eleven genera. It was published by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in his book ''Genera planta ...

. It is native to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and found in the countries of Algeria, Corsica, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain and Tunisia. It was first published in Fl. Portug. vol.2 on page 93 in 1820. It was included in genus ''

Scabiosa ''Scabiosa'' is a genus in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious, but some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in re ...

'' for a long time but molecular data demonstrated that genera ''Pycnocomon'' and '' Lomelosia'' (another Scabiosa-like genus) form a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

distinct from ''Scabiosa''. In 2017, a new species from the family

Eriophyidae Eriophyidae is a family of more than 200 genera of mites, which live as plant parasites, commonly causing galls or other damage to the plant tissues and hence known as gall mites. About 3,600 species have been described, but this is probably l ...

, the gall mites, ''

Aceria pycnocomi ''Aceria'' is a genus of mites belonging to the family Eriophyidae, the gall mites. These tiny animals are parasites of plants. Several species can cause blistering and galls, including erineum galls. A few are economically significant pests, wh ...

'' was found on ''Pycnocomon rutifolium'' in Spain. ''Pycnocomon rutifolium'' in Spain was screened for Anticancer activity in 2021.

Species

As accepted by Plants of the World Online;

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10355577 Caprifoliaceae Caprifoliaceae genera Plants described in 1820 Flora of Southwestern Europe Flora of Southeastern Europe Flora of North Africa