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Plectocephalus americanus
Also called American Star Thistle, Basket Flower, American Basket Flower, Powderpuff Thistle, Thornless Thistle, American Basketflower
Centaurea americana, American basketflower, is an annual native to the southern central US and northeastern Mexico, grown for its large pink flower heads. Sow in full sun in lean, well-drained soil; it tolerates heat and drought well.
Centaurea americana, commonly called American starthistle or American basketflower, is an annual native to the southern central United States and northeastern Mexico. Its common name comes from the underside of the inflorescence, which has a basket weave pattern on it and on the flowerbuds.
The pink petals look somewhat like a thistle with a cream colored center. Blooms are 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter and are held from May until June. The plant can reach 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) tall and has rough, lance-shaped leaves 4 inches (10 cm) long.
Centaurodendron dracaenoides · Centaurodendron palmiforme · Knapweed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Centaurea americana 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.
