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Centaurea scabiosa
Also called Scabious Knapweed, Greater Centaury, Hardheads, Greater Centaurea, Rough Knapweed, Great Starthistle
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.
Found in Great Britain and Ireland. Native to Europe and Asia. In Europe, it can be found in most regions except Portugal and certain islands, such as Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Mallorca, the Greek islands and Iceland. In Asia, it can be found in the Caucasus region and Siberia with the exception of Chukotka and the Magadan Oblast.
Centaurea acaulis · Akamas centaury · Centaurea alba · Centaurea ammocyanus · Rough star-thistle · Centaurea atropurpurea · Centaurea behen · Blessed Thistle · Red star-thistle · Karl-Henrikh's Centaury · Dusty miller · Centaurea collina
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Centaurea scabiosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
