Centaurea
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Centaurea is a genus of about 350-500 species of herbaceous thistles and thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, mostly native to the Old World. Common names for different species include star thistle, cornflower, knapweed and bluet. Some species are cultivated as ornamental plants in gardens.
Species
Species in this genus include:- Centaurea adpressa
- Centaurea aggregata
- Centaurea alpestris
- Centaurea alpina
- Centaurea americana – American Star-thistle
- Centaurea argentea
- Centaurea aspera – Rough Star-thistle
- Centaurea atropurpurea
- Centaurea babylonica
- Centaurea behen
- Centaurea bella
- Centaurea bovina
- Centaurea bulbosa
- Centaurea cachinalensis
- Centaurea calcitrapa – Purple Star Thistle or Caltrop - Europe
- Centaurea calcitrapoides
- Centaurea chilensis
- Centaurea cineraria
- Centaurea clementei
- Centaurea cyanus – Cornflower
- Centaurea dealbata
- Centaurea debeauxii
- Centaurea depressa
- Centaurea diffusa – Diffuse Knapweed
- Centaurea diluta
- Centaurea dschungarica
- Centaurea eriophora
- Centaurea floccosa
- Centaurea gayana
- Centaurea glastifolia
- Centaurea grinensis
- Centaurea hypoleuca
- Centaurea iberica – A spiny Mediterranean species thought to be the "thistle" mentioned in Genesis
- Centaurea imperialis
- Centaurea jacea
- Centaurea kasakorum
- Centaurea kopetaghensis
- Centaurea kotschyana
- Centaurea leucophylla
- Centaurea macrocephala
- Centaurea maculosa – Spotted Knapweed; eastern Europe; introduced in North America, now an invasive weed which releases a toxin that reduces growth of forage species.
- Centaurea marschalliana
- Centaurea melitensis
- Centaurea monocephala
- Centaurea montana – Perennial Cornflower
- Centaurea nigra – Black Knapweed or Common Knapweed
- Centaurea nigrescens – Tyrol Knapweed; southern and eastern Europe
- Centaurea orientalis
- Centaurea ovina
- Centaurea paniculata
- Centaurea phrygia
- Centaurea pindicola
- Centaurea polypodiifolia
- Centaurea pulcherrima
- Centaurea ragusina
- Centaurea repens – Russian Knapweed (also Turkestan Thistle) is a perennial, native to southern Russia and Asia Minor to Altay Mountains and Afghanistan. It is a weed in parts of its native range as well as in places where it has been accidentally naturalized. The flowerhead is lilac and not spiny.
- Centaurea rothrockii
- Centaurea ruthenica
- Centaurea rutifolia
- Centaurea scabiosa – Greater Knapweed
- Centaurea seridis
- Centaurea sibirica
- Centaurea simplicicaulis
- Centaurea solstitialis – Yellow Star Thistle; Europe.
- Centaurea squarrosa
- Centaurea stenolepis
- Centaurea stoebe
- Centaurea sulphurea
- Centaurea transalpina
- Centaurea trichocephala
- Centaurea triumfettii
- Centaurea uniflora
- Centaurea virgata
Nectar
Centaurea are copious nectar producers, especially on high-lime soils, and are major honey plants for beekeepers. Star thistle varietal honey is light and slightly tangy. It is one of the finest honeys produced in the US, but as it is abundant, some of it is fraudulently relabeled and sold as the scarce, expensive Sourwood honey of the Appalachian Mountains.The high nectar yield of the genus makes it very attractive to insects such as butterflies and day-flying moths such as Six-spot Burnet. The larvae of some other Lepidoptera species use Centaurea species as food plants - see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Centaurea.
References
- [Flora Europaea: Centaurea]
- [USDA Plant Profile: Centaurea]
- [Flora of China: Centaurea species list]
- [Flora of Chile: Centaurea (pdf)]
- Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The Plant Book. A portable dictionary of the higher plants. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 706 p. ISBN 0 521 34060 8.
- Robbins, W.W., M. K. Bellue, and W. S. Ball. 1970. Weeds of California. State of California, Dept. of Agriculture. 547 p.
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