{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Speciesbox | image = Illecebrum verticillatum-IMG 4272.jpg | genus = Illecebrum | parent_authority = L. | species = verticillatum | authority = L. }}

'''''Illecebrum''''' is a monotypic genus in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains the single species '''''Illecebrum verticillatum''''', which is a trailing annual plant native to Europe, with whorls of small white flowers borne in the axils of the paired leaves.

==Distribution== ''Illecebrum verticillatum'' is native to much of Europe, from the western Iberian Peninsula to Poland;<ref name="FAE"/> it is rare in Great Britain,<ref name="Stace"/> and its northernmost station is in Denmark.<ref name="FAE">{{cite book |editor=Jaakko Jalas & Juha Suominen |year=1998 |series=Atlas Florae Europaeae: Distribution of Vascular Plants in Europe |volume=6 |title=Caryophyllaceae (Alsinoideae and Paronychioideae) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-34272-8 |page=154 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XIJ1rWpwcMC&pg=PA154}}</ref> It has also been introduced species to at least one site in New Zealand and one site in Western Australia.<ref name="Wilson"/>

==Description== ''Illecebrum verticillatum'' produces procumbent or decumbent (trailing) stems that may be up to {{convert|20|cm|abbr=on}} high. It has ovate leaves arranged in opposite pairs along the stem. The small flowers are clustered in the axils of the leaves; their petals are much smaller than the white sepals.<ref name="Stace">{{cite book |author=Clive A. Stace |author-link=Clive A. Stace |year=2010 |title=New Flora of the British Isles |edition=3rd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-70772-5 |pages=466–467 |chapter=''Illecebrum'' L. – coral-necklace}}</ref>

==Taxonomy== ''Illecebrum verticillatum'' was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 ''Species Plantarum''. It has sometimes been placed in a family of its own, Illecebraceae, but is usually placed in the family Caryophyllaceae.<ref name="Wilson"/> The genus name ''Illecebrum'' derives from the Latin word ''{{lang|la|illecebra}}'', meaning "enticement", although it is unclear how the name came to be applied to a plant such as ''I.&nbsp;verticillatum''.<ref name="Wilson"/> The specific epithet ''{{lang|la|verticillatum}}'' means "whorled",<ref>{{cite book |author=David Gledhill |year=2002 |title=The Names of Plants |url=https://archive.org/details/namesofplants0000gled |url-access=registration |edition=3rd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-52340-0}}</ref> in reference to the arrangement of the flowers. The plant is sometimes referred to in published works as ''whorled knotweed'' or ''coral necklace'', although it is unclear if these purported common names are actually used in practice.<ref name="Wilson">{{cite journal |author=Paul G. Wilson |year=1998 |title=''Illecebrum verticillatum'' (Caryophyllaceae), a new record for Australia |journal=Nuytsia |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=155–156 |doi=10.58828/nuy00289 |url=http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/289.pdf |access-date=2013-10-10 |archive-date=2018-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411092905/https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/289.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|32em}}

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Category:Caryophyllaceae Category:Monotypic Caryophyllaceae genera Category:Flora of Europe Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus