Centaurea cineraria

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Compositae

The largest family of flowering plants , the Compositae (Asteraceae), comprising about 1,100 genera and more than 20,000 species and characterized by many small flowers arranged in a head looking like a single flower and subtended by an involucre of bracts. A head may consist of both ray flowers and disk flowers, as in the sunflower, of disk flowers only, as in the burdock, or of ray flowers only, as in the dandelion.

Genus Centaurea

Annuals , biennials, or perennials, 20-300 cm, glabrous or tomentose . Stems erect , ascending , or spreading , simple or branched. Leaves basal and cauline; petiolate or sessile; proximal blade margins often ± deeply lobed , (spiny in C. benedicta ), distal ± smaller, often entire, faces glabrous or ± tomentose, sometimes also villous , strigose , or puberulent , often glandular-punctate. Heads discoid , disciform , or radiant, borne singly or in corymbiform arrays. Involucres cylindric or ovoid to hemispheric . Phyllaries many in 6-many series, unequal, proximal part appressed , body margins entire. distal parts expanded into erect to spreading, usually ± dentate or fringed , linear to ovate appendages , spine. tipped or spineless. Receptacles flat, epaleate, bristly . Florets 10-many; outer usually sterile , corollas slender and inconspicuous to much expanded, ± bilateral ; inner fertile , corollas white to blue, pink, purple, or yellow, bilateral or radial , often bent at junction of tubes and throats , lobes linear-oblong, acute; anther bases tailed , apical appendages oblong ; style branches: fused portions with minutely hairy nodes, distinct portions minute. Cypselae ± barrel-shaped, ± compressed , smooth or ribbed , apices entire (denticulate in C. benedicta ), glabrous or with fine, 1-celled hairs , attachment scar . lateral (with or without elaiosomes) ; pappi 0 or ± persistent , of 1-3 series of smooth or minutely barbed , stiff bristles or narrow scales . x = 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15.

Species ca. 500: introduced ; Eurasia , n Africa, widely introduced worldwide.

Taxonomic limits of Centaurea have been controversial. The genus has great morphologic diversity , and studies have revealed much cytologic (e.g. , N. Garcia-Jacas et al. 1996) and palynologic (e.g., G. Wagenitz 1955) variation as well. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, various taxonomists attempted, with limited success, to divide Centaurea into smaller genera or workable infrageneric taxa. The relations of several satellite genera have been controversial as well.

Recent molecular phylogenetic studies (A. Susanna et al. 1995; N. Garcia-Jacas et al. 2000, 2001) have begun to clarify relationships within Centaurea and between Centaurea and other genera. These studies make it clear that Centaurea as traditionally defined is polyphyletic, and that generic boundaries should be realigned if monophyletic taxa are to be recognized. Some taxa traditionally included within Centaurea (e.g., the two native North American species, Centaurea americana and C. rothrockii) fall outside the redefined generic boundaries and are here treated in Plectocephalus. Others usually placed into segregate genera (e.g., Cnicus benedictus) are firmly nested within Centaurea. Because the type species of Centaurea (C. centaurium Linnaeus, an African species) falls outside the main lineage of the genus, a proposal has been made to conserve Centaurea with a different type species (W. Greuter et al. 2001), thereby maintaining the nomenclatural stability of most of the numerous species that do fall within the principal Centaurea clade.

Although several Centaurea species are widely established as members of the North American flora , and some of these are widely distributed invasive weeds , some of the taxa listed by J. T. Kartesz and C. A. Meacham (1999) are apparently waifs and not permanent members of the flora. These taxa are discussed informally immediately below.

Although Cnicus has usually been recognized as a distinctive monotypic genus, it has been merged into Centaurea by various authors (e.g., K . Bremer 1994; G. Wagenitz and F. H. Hellwig 1996) . Recent molecular systematic studies (N. Garcia-Jacas et al. 2000) provide additional evidence that it is nested within Centaurea.[1]

Physical Description

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 9-12" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: Not Applicable (map)

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Data Providers: Caribbean Checklist , SANBI, New Zealand Plant Name Database, Govaerts World Compositae Checklist A-G, IPNI, Tropicos, Euro+Med. GCC LSID: urn :lsid:compositae.org:names:EBD4D817-9013-463B-BEBD-34E5E8707A75

Last scrutiny: 19-Aug-09

Similar Species

Members of the genus Centaurea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 82 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. akamantis (Akamas Centaury) · C. alpestris (Greater Centaury) · C. americana (American Basketflower) · C. americana 'Aloha' (American Knapweed) · C. americana 'Jolly Joker' (American Knapweed) · C. aspera (Rough Star-Thistle) · C. atropurpurea (Centaurea) · C. bella (Knapweed) · C. benoistii (Maroon Cornflower) · C. biebersteinii (Ballast Waif Centaurea Biebersteinii) · C. bovina (Pasture Knapweed) · C. cachinalensis (Flor Del Minero) · C. calcitrapa (Big-Head Purple Starthistle) · C. calcitrapoides (Smallhead Star-Thistle) · C. cineraria (Dusty Miller) · C. cineraria 'Colchester White' (Dusty Miller) · C. crupina (Crupina) · C. cyanoides 'Blue Carpet' (Cornflower) · C. cyanus (Bachelor's Button) · C. cyanus nana 'Jubilee Gem' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Black Ball' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Black Boy' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Black Gem' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Black Magic' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Blue Boy' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Blue Diadem' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Classic Blue' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Dwarf Blue Midget' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Frosted Queen Mix' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Frosty Mix' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Mauve Queen' (Bachelors Button) · C. cyanus 'Polka Dot Mix' (Bachelors Button) · C. dealbata (Knapweed Centaurea Dealbata) · C. dealbata 'Rosea' (Knapweed) · C. debeauxii (Meadow Knapweed) · C. debeauxii thuillieri (Meadow Knapweed) · C. debeauxii subsp. thuillieri (Meadow Knapweed) · C. depressa (Centaurea) · C. diffusa (Diffuse Knapweed) · C. diluta (North African Knapweed) · C. eriophora (Sand-Heath) · C. gymnocarpa (Velvet Centaurea) · C. hypoleuca DC. 'John Coutts' (Knapweed) · C. iberica (Iberian Knapweed) · C. jacea (Brown Knapweed) · C. jacea x nigra (Hybrid Knapweed Centaurea Jacea X Nigra) · C. macrocephala (Armenian Basketflower) · C. melitensis (Cockspur Thistle) · C. moncktonii (Meadow Knapweed) · C. montana (Mountain Bluet) · C. montana 'Alba' (Mountain Bluet) · C. montana 'Amethyst in Snow' (Mountain Bluet) · C. montana 'Dot Purple' (Mountain Bluet) · C. montana 'Gold Bullion' (Batchelor's Button) · C. moschata 'Dairy Maid' (Sweet Sultan) · C. moschata 'Imperialis' (Sweet Sultan) · C. moschata 'The Bride' (Sweet Sultan) · C. nigra (Black Knapweed) · C. nigrescens (Short-Fringe Starthistle) · C. orientalis (Centaurea) · C. ovina (Lilac Knapweed) · C. paniculata (Jersey Knapweed) · C. phrygia (Scandinavian Starthistle) · C. pindicola (Centaurea) · C. pulcherrima (Pink Bachelors Button) · C. 'Pulchra Major' (Bachelor's Button) · C. ragusina (Dubrovacka Zecina) · C. rothrockii (Basket Flower) · C. scabiosa (Great Starthistle) · C. solstitialis (Barnaby Star-Thistle) · C. solstitialis solstitialis (St. Barnaby's Thistle) · C. stoebe (Spotted Knapweed) · C. sulphurea (Sicilian Starthistle) · C. thuillieri (Meadow Knapweed) · C. transalpina (Alpine Knapweed) · C. trichocephala (Feather-Head Knapweed) · C. triumfetti (Squarrose Knapweed Centaurea Triumfetti) · C. triumfettii (Spreading Thistle) · C. uniflora (Single-Flower Knapweed) · C. uniflora nervosa (Singleflower Knapweed) · C. xpratensis (Meadow Knapweed) · C.'Nigra' (Bachelor Buttons)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Among school gardens, by M. Louise Greene. New York, Charities publication committee, 1910. url p. 289.
• An encyclopaedia of gardening; comprising the theory and practice of horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture, and landscape-gardening, including all the latest improvements; a general history of gardening in all countries; and a By J.C. Loudon. London, Printed for Longman, Ross, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1828. url p. 872.
• Catalogue of scientific papers (1800-1900) Comp. by the Royal society of London. Cambridge, C. J. Clay and sons, 1867-1902; url p. 542.
• Catalogue of scientific papers, 1800-1900. Compiled by the Royal Society of London. London, C.J. Clay and Sons, 1867-1902 [etc.] Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1914-25. url p. 542.
• Compositae newsletter. Columbus, Ohio: Dept. of Botany, Ohio State University, 1975- url p. 17, p. 5.
• Essay on the trees and shrubs of the ancients: being the substance of four lectures delivered before the University of Oxford, intended to be supplementary to those on Roman husbandry, already published. By C. Daubeny. .. Oxford and London: J. H. & J. Parker, 1865. url p. 64.
• Florists' review Chicago: Florists' Pub. Co. url , , , , , , , , .
• New illustrated encyclopedia of gardening, unabridged. Edited by T.H. Everett, with contributions from twenty horticulturists and authorities in the United States and Canada. New York, Greystone Press[1964-] url p. 119.
• Our garden flowers; a popular study of their native lands, their life histories, and their structural affiliations, New York, C. Scribner's Sons, 1910. url , .
• Plants for California landscapes: a catalog of drought tolerant plants. [Sacramento, Calif.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Water Resources, [1979] url p. 90.
• Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. Washington, etc.: Entomological Society of Washington url p. 502, p. 504, p. 506.
• Standardized plant names; a catalogue of approved scientific and common names of plants in American commerce. Salem, Mass., 1923. url p. 131.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 326, p. 340.
• The Florists' exchange: a weekly medium of interchange for florists, nurserymen, seedsmen and the trade in general. New York, N.Y.: [A.T. De la Mare Ptg. and Pub. Co., url p. 1299, p. 61.
• The complete garden, by Albert D. Taylor, assisted by Gordon D. Cooper. Illustrated with fifty full page cuts, four line charts, and nine coloured plates. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, Page, 1921. url p. 244, p. 244.
• The complete illustrated book of garden magic. Chicago, J.G. Ferguson Pub. Co.[1969] url p. 150, p. 151.
• Torreya. Burlington, Vt., Torrey Botanical Club, 1901-1945. url p. 110.
• Garcia-Jacas, N., A. Susanna, V. Mozaffarian, and R. Ilarslan. 2000. The natural delimitation of Centaurea (Asteraceae: Cardueae): ITS sequence analysis of the Centaurea jacea group. Pl. Syst. Evol. 223: 185199.
• Moore, R. J. 1972. Distribution of native and introduced knapweeds (Centaurea) in Canada and the United States. Rhodora 74: 331346.
• Roché, B. F. and C. T. Roché. 1991. Identification, introduction, distribution, ecology, and economics of Centaurea species. In: L. F. James et al., eds. 1991. Noxious Range Weeds. Boulder, San Francisco, and Oxford. Pp. 274291.
• Wagenitz, G. 1955. Pollenmorphologie und Systematik in der Gattung Centaurea L. s.l. Flora 142: 213279.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed March 27, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 19, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• Berkeley Natural History Museums, University and Jepson Herbaria DiGIR provider
• GBIF-Spain, Hortus Botanicus Sollerensis Herbarium
• GBIF-Spain, Jardín Botánico de Córdoba: Herbarium COA
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• The Swedish Museum of Natural History
• , Herbarium of Oskarshamn
• USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2658253
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Ast-7579
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13749291
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:190219-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 104124
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 36953
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PDAST1Y040
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: CECI2
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 28381

Footnotes

1. David J. Keil, Jörg Ochsmann "Centaurea". in Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 52, 57, 58, 67, 83, 84, 96, 171, 172, 176, 177, EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.