# Sweet scabious

*Sixalix atropurpurea*

Its common name 'Scabious' comes from the traditional belief that the plant could cure scabies and other skin ailments.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Dipsacales › Caprifoliaceae › Sixalix
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry meadows, coastal grasslands, road verges, and calcareous soils.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- **Range:** Mediterranean Basin, Southern Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
- **Size:** 30-90 cm in height
- **Lifespan:** 1-2 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss through intensive agriculture and urban development.
- **Safe to approach?:** Entirely harmless and safe to approach. Observe the many pollinators it attracts from a short distance to avoid disturbing their feeding. Do not forage in protected wild areas.

## About

Scabiosa atropurpurea (syn. Sixalix atropurpurea ), the mourningbride , mournful widow , pincushion flower , or sweet scabious , is an ornamental plant of the genus Scabiosa in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is native to southern Europe.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/d1fb5cb2-084e-49a4-b1c7-e9eccde51f28
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/372376
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixalix atropurpurea
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/254330344/medium.jpg (Connor Margetts, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.