This annual plant with a sub-Atlantic distribution centered in southwestern Europe is present in Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily (not found since a long time in Piedmont where perhaps it is extinguished, and in Campania). It grows in moist environments, on the edge of ephemeral pools and along forest trails, on muddy soils, preferably on siliceous substrates, with optimum in the Mediterranean belt. It is a characteristic species of temporary ponds, but in those of Sardinia it appears only sporadically in the outer belt. The genus name is derived from Cicend, a city of Albania from which the species was originally described, the species name, which in Latin means ‘thread-like’, refers to the thin stems. Flowering period: April to May.

Italian name(s): Cicendia (Italia), Cicendia comune (Italia).