Centaurea jacea

Centaurea jacea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Centaurea
Species:
C. jacea
Binomial name
Centaurea jacea

Centaurea jacea, brown knapweed[1] 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. It has simple leaves that are alternate in arrangement.[2]

Centaurea jacea

In Britain and America, it is often found as a hybrid of black knapweed, Centaurea nigra.[3] Unlike the black knapweed, the flower heads always look as if they are rayed, forming a more open star rather than a brush-like tuft.

Centaurea × moncktonii is a fertile hybrid between black knapweed and brown knapweed.[4]

  1. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. ^ "Centaurea jacea (brown knapweed): Go Botany". gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  3. ^ Rose, Francis (1981). The Wild Flower Key. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 386–387. ISBN 0-7232-2419-6.
  4. ^ "Centaurea x_moncktonii in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 24 October 2022.