Centaurea scabiosa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Centaurea |
Species: | C. scabiosa |
Binomial name | |
Centaurea scabiosa | |
Centaurea scabiosa, or greater knapweed, is a perennial plant of the genus Centaurea . It is native to Europe and bears purple flower heads.
Greater knapweed is found growing in dry grasslands, hedgerows and cliffs on lime-rich soil. Upright branched stems terminate in single thistle-like flowerheads, each having an outer ring of extended, purple-pink "ragged" bracts which form a crown around the central flowers. The plant has deeply dissected leaves which form a clump at the base.
This species is very valuable to bees. It is also a magnet for many species of butterfly. Among them is the marbled white.
This is the only known food plant for caterpillars of the Coleophoridae case-bearer moth Coleophora didymella . Centaurea scabiosa has been used in traditional herbal healing as either a vulnerary or an emollient.
The plant is sometimes confused with devils-bit scabious, however the leaves on this plant are arranged alternately, whereas in devils-bit they are opposite. [1]
This perennial herb grows with an erect grooved stem up to 90 cm high. The leaves are alternate, pinnatifid and with stalks. The flower heads are 5 cm across and on long stalks. The florets are red-purple. [2] [3]
Dry grassland, roadsides and calcareous substrate. [3]
Found in Great Britain and Ireland. [3]
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.
Potentilla erecta is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family (Rosaceae).
Serratula tinctoria, commonly known as dyer's plumeless saw-wort or saw-wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Allium vineale is a perennial, bulb-forming species of wild onion, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and the Middle East. The species was introduced in Australia and North America, where it has become a noxious weed.
Lathraea squamaria, the common toothwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is widely distributed in Europe and also occurs in Turkey.
Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), genus Anthriscus. It is also sometimes called mother-die, a name that is also applied to the common hawthorn. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. It is related to other diverse members of Apiaceae, such as parsley, carrot, hemlock and hogweed. It is often confused with Daucus carota, another member of the Apiaceae also known as "Queen Anne's lace" or "wild carrot".
Polygala vulgaris, known as the common milkwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Polygala in the family Polygalaceae.
Centaurea montana, the perennial cornflower, 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. 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.
Knautia arvensis, commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
Succisa pratensis, also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field scabious have five lobes and hence it has been placed in a separate genus in the same family. It also grows on damper ground.
Centaurea jacea, brown knapweed or brownray knapweed, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants in the genus Centaurea native to dry meadows and open woodland throughout Europe. It grows to 10–80 centimetres (4–31 in) tall, and flowers mainly from June to September.
Centaurea nigra is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names lesser knapweed, common knapweed and black knapweed. A local vernacular name is hardheads.
Cirsium acaule or acaulon has the English name dwarf thistle or stemless thistle. It is widespread across much of Europe. It is often found on short, calcerous grasslands.
Cirsium heterophyllum, the melancholy thistle, is an erect spineless herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia, where it grows in upland meadows, grasslands, road verges and open woodland.
Cirsium dissectum, also known as meadow thistle, is an erect perennial herb. It is found in England, Wales, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Norway, etc. It is found in fens and less acidic peat bogs i.e. it prefers damp boggy areas.
Stellaria neglecta, greater chickweed, is an annual to short-lived herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in hedges and woodland margins on neutral to slightly acid, damp soils, and is widespread but rarely abundant. It has been introduced to North America, where it has been spreading in recent decades.
Centaurea triumfettii, the squarrose knapweed, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Centaurea of the family Asteraceae.
Streptopus lanceolatus, is an understory perennial plant native to the forests of North America, from Alaska to Labrador, south through the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountain regions of the United States, as well as Montana, Washington state, Oregon, and St. Pierre & Miquelon. It grows primarily in mixed-wood forests, and throughout a wide range of soil and site conditions, preferring cool, acidic soils.
Centaurea macrocephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and a member of the thistle tribe, Cardueae (Cynareae). It has many common names, including bighead knapweed, big yellow centaurea, lemon fluff, yellow bachelor's button, yellow hardhat, and Armenian basketflower.
Meadow knapweed is a fertile hybrid between black knapweed and brown knapweed. It is also known by the common names of hybrid knapweed or protean knapweed. The taxonomic status of the species is uncertain, and meadow knapweed has been variously described as different species. The Flora of North America refers to meadow knapweed as the nothospecies Centaurea × moncktonii.