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Centaurea stoebe
Also called Panicled Knapweed
Spotted knapweed is a biennial or short-lived perennial thistle-like plant in the daisy family, native to eastern Europe and now widespread as an invasive weed in North America. It is grown or tolerated mainly for its pink to lavender flower heads, and it spreads readily by seed.
Centaurea stoebe, the spotted knapweed or panicled knapweed, is a species of Centaurea native to eastern Europe, although it has spread to North America, where it is considered an invasive species. It forms a tumbleweed, helping to increase the species' reach, and the seeds are also enabled by a feathery pappus.
Handling the plant barehanded is rumored to possibly cause tumors, particularly if one has an open wound, but there is little evidence to support this hypothesis.
The species is native to eastern Europe. It is also an invasive species in southern Canada, and northwestern Mexico, and nearly every state in the United States; it has thrived in the western US in particular, much of which has a dry climate similar to the Mediterranean.
Centaurea behen · Dusty miller · Cornflower · Fiordaliso di Capraia · Maltese star-thistle · Perennial Cornflower · Common Knapweed · Yellow star-thistle · Centaurea tchihatcheffii
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Centaurea stoebe 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.
