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Centaurea melitensis
Also called Maltese Cockspur, Napa Thistle, Maltese Centaury, Tocalote, Malta Thistle, Maltese Knapweed, Maltese Thistle
Maltese star-thistle is a spiny annual in the daisy family, typically 1 to 11 dm tall, native to the Mediterranean and now widespread in western North America. It grows easily from seed in dry, sunny, disturbed ground and needs little care.
Centaurea melitensis (called Maltese star-thistle in Europe, tocalote or tocolote in western North America) is an annual plant in the family Asteraceae, 1 to 11 decimetres (4 to 43 in) high, with resin-dotted leaves and spine-tipped phyllaries. This plant is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Africa. It was introduced to North America in the 18th century; the first documented occurrence in California is in the adobe of a building constructed in San Fernando in 1797. It is also naturalized on a number of Pacific islands.
Centaurea behen · Dusty miller · Cornflower · Fiordaliso di Capraia · Perennial Cornflower · Common Knapweed · Yellow star-thistle · Spotted knapweed · Centaurea tchihatcheffii
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Centaurea melitensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
