Centaurea montana

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Centaurea montana
Centaurea montana.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Centaurea
Species:
C. montana
Binomial name
Centaurea montana
L.
Synonyms
  • Cyanus montanusL. (Hill)
  • Centaurea angustifolia Mill.
  • Centaurea mollisWaldst. & Kit

Centaurea montana, the perennial cornflower, [1] mountain cornflower, bachelor's button, montane knapweed or mountain bluet, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, endemic to Europe. It is widespread and common in the more southerly mountain ranges of Europe, but is rarer in the north. It escapes from gardens readily, and has thereby become established in the British Isles, Scandinavia and North America. This plant has become an invasive species in British Columbia, Canada. [2] Centaurea montana grows in meadows and open woodland in the upper montane and sub-alpine zones, in basic areas. It grows to 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) tall, and flowers mainly from May to August.

Contents

Centaurea montana may be distinguished from other Centaurea species in the region by its usually entire leaves, and the blue-purple colour of the outermost ray florets. It may be distinguished from the cornflower, Centaurea cyanus, by having a single (rarely up to three) flower heads, and by its being perennial, whereas the cornflower has many flower heads and is annual. The closely related C. triumfettii has more narrowly winged stems, narrower leaves and grows in rockier areas.

Taxonomy

The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains. [3]

Ornamental use

Centaura de las montanas - Centaurea montana (9583677454).jpg

Centaurea montana grows in gardens where it grows best in sunny positions. It tolerates some light shade. Since the plant is evergreen it can use the light in winter and early spring when deciduous trees and shrubs have no leaves. It tolerates deciduous shade better than evergreen shade and prepares to flower while deciduous plants are bare. Therefore, it can flower reasonably well in light deciduous shade. If the plant is dug up, a new plant can eventually regenerate from small pieces of root left in the soil. Centaurea montana grows well in soils varying from light sand to heavy clay. The plant also grows well in acid, neutral or very alkaline soils. It tolerates drought but cannot tolerate waterlogged conditions. [4]

This plant is inedible; however, it is a popular medicinal plant in Central Europe.

Related Research Articles

<i>Centaurea</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the daisy and sunflower family

Centaurea is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich. In the western United States, yellow starthistles are an invasive species. Around the year 1850, seeds from the plant had arrived to the state of California. It is believed that those seeds came from South America.

<i>Hypericum calycinum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum calycinum is a species of prostrate or low-growing shrub in the flowering plant family Hypericaceae. Widely cultivated for its large yellow flowers, its names as a garden plant include Rose-of-Sharon in Britain and Australia, and Aaron's beard, great St-John's wort, creeping St. John's wort and Jerusalem star. Grown in Mediterranean climates, widely spread in the Strandja Mountains along the Bulgarian and Turkish Black Sea coast.

<i>Centaurea cyanus</i> Species of flowering plant

Centaurea cyanus, commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button, is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields, hence its name. It is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly by over-use of herbicides. However, Centaurea cyanus is now also naturalised in many other parts of the world, including North America and parts of Australia through introduction as an ornamental plant in gardens and as a seed contaminant in crop seeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perennial plant</span> Plant that lives for more than two years

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.

<i>Sanguisorba minor</i> Species of flowering edible herb in the rose family Rosaceae

Sanguisorba minor, the salad burnet, garden burnet, small burnet, burnet, pimpernelle, Toper's plant, and burnet-bloodwort, is an edible perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae. It has ferny, toothed-leaf foliage; the unusual crimson, spherical flower clusters rise well above the leaves on thin stems. It generally grows to 25–55 cm tall. The large, long, taproots store water, making it drought-tolerant.

<i>Pulmonaria longifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Pulmonaria longifolia, is a semi-evergreen clump-forming herbaceous perennial plant, native to western Europe, including Britain, France, Spain, Portugal. It grows in semi-shaded habitats, such as woodland and scrub, to 2000 m above sea level.

<i>Primula elatior</i> Species of flowering plant

Primula elatior, the oxlip, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to nutrient-poor and calcium-rich damp woods and meadows throughout Europe, with northern borders in Denmark and southern parts of Sweden, eastwards to the Altai Mountains and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia, and westwards in the British Isles.

<i>Omphalodes verna</i> Species of flowering plant

Omphalodes verna, the creeping navelwort or blue-eyed-Mary, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Omphalodes belonging to the family Boraginaceae.

<i>Spiraea japonica</i> Flowering plant in the family Rosaceae

Spiraea japonica, the Japanese meadowsweet or Japanese spiraea, is a plant in the family Rosaceae.

<i>Festuca glauca</i> Species of grass

Festuca glauca, commonly known as blue fescue, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family, Poaceae. It is a commonly cultivated evergreen or semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial.

<i>Arenaria montana</i> Species of flowering plant

Arenaria montana, the mountain sandwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to mountainous regions of southwestern Europe, from the Pyrenees to Portugal. The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains.

<i>Psephellus dealbatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Psephellus dealbatus, the Persian cornflower or whitewash cornflower, is a species of Psephellus native to the Caucasus Mountains and Turkey. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental perennial.

<i>Laburnum alpinum</i> Species of plant

Laburnum alpinum, the Scotch laburnum, Scottish laburnum or alpine laburnum, is a leguminous, (Leguminosae), deciduous tree.

<i>Anemonoides blanda</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Anemonoides blanda, syn. Anemone blanda, the Balkan anemone, Grecian windflower, or winter windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. The species is native to southeastern Europe and the Middle East. The specific epithet blanda means "mild" or "charming". The genus name is derived from the Greek word anemos, or wind.

<i>Ilex cornuta</i> Species of holly

Ilex cornuta, commonly known as Chinese holly or horned holly, is a slow-growing, densely foliaged evergreen shrub in the Aquifoliaceae plant family. It is native to eastern China and Korea and attains a height of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are usually 5-spined, between 3.5 cm and 10 cm long, oblong and entire. The fruits are red berries, which are larger than those of the European Holly.

<i>Centaurea triumfettii</i> Species of flowering plant

Centaurea triumfettii, the squarrose knapweed, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Centaurea of the family Asteraceae.

<i>Eccremocarpus scaber</i> Species of flowering plant

Eccremocarpus scaber, the Chilean glory-flower or Chilean glory creeper, is a species of perennial plant in the Bignoniaceae family. It is found in Chile.

<i>Rubus tricolor</i> Species of evergreen prostrate shrub native to southwestern China

Rubus tricolor is an evergreen prostrate shrub, native to southwestern China. Leaves are dark green above, pale green below, and stems have red bristles. It has white flowers in summer and edible red fruit. It grows approximately 0.3 m (0.98 ft) high and usually forming a vigorously spreading, dense mat. In cultivation, it is mainly used as groundcover. Common names include Chinese bramble, groundcover bramble, creeping bramble, Korean raspberry, Himalayan bramble, and groundcover raspberry. In Chinese, it is called 三色莓.

<i>Veronica montana</i> Species of flowering plant

Veronica montana or wood speedwell is a perennial species of flowering plant from the genus Veronica. It also belongs to the family Plantaginaceae.

<i>Polyscias fulva</i> Species of tree

Polyscias fulva is a species of flowering plant. It is an evergreen or deciduous tree, native to the mountains of tropical Africa and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula.

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. "INVASIVE PLANT Mountain Bluet Centaurea montana". Invasive Species Council of BC. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  3. Archibald William Smith A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins , p. 239, at Google Books
  4. "Centaurea montana L." Plants for a Future . Retrieved 2013-06-02.