Greater Knapweed
Centaurea scabiosa
Aster family (Asteraceae)
Half man, half horse …. or plant?
The greater knapweed with its large flowers and height of 60 to 120 cm forms a striking plant. It is distinct from other knapweeds that grow in the Netherlands by its purple flowers and feathery leaf, the blade of which is deeply dissected into distinct lobes. Despite this species having a wide distribution in the Netherlands, it is actually quite rare.
The origin of the name, centaurie, lies in Greek mythology. A centaur (half man, half horse) named Chiron healed the wound on Achilles’s foot with a cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). The species name, scabiosa, means scabies, a skin infection that results in an itchy pimple-like rash. This resembles the involucre bracts of the flower heads, which have beautiful frills and colours that resemble the pimply rash.
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Crown jewel in the Nijmegen Botanic Garden.
The plant is used by, for example, the attractive marbled white butterfly.
During flowering bees frequently visit the plant.
In the past the greater knapweed was used as a treatment for scabies.
The rose window featured in many gothic cathedrals was inspired by the flower head of the greater knapweed.
Details
Description: | Herb, up to 75cm, with pinnately lobed leaves. |
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Distributions: | Western and central asia and europe, except in the most southerly regions |
Habitat: | Plant association: centaurea scabiosa is an indicator species for calcareous grasslands (festuco-brometea). |
Year cycle: | Perennial (trees and shrubs included) |
Hardiness: | -4 - 5 f (hardy - very cold winter) |
Flowering period: | Juni - september |
Flower color: | Purple, red |
Notes on flowers: | Reddish-purple flower heads up to 5cm in diameter, usually with enlarged outer florets. |
Notes on fruits: | A one-seeded achene or nutlet. the fruits are straw brown, up to 0.5 cm with a purplish coloured tuft of almost the same length |
At its best: | Juni - september |
Sources
http://www.floron.nl/publicaties/rode-lijst-2012,IUCNredlist.org, Heukels' Flora van Nederland, R. van der Meijden, 2005, 23e druk, Wolters Noordhoff,
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grote_centaurie,
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skabiosen-Flockenblume,
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/3370/i-Centaurea-scabiosa-i/Details?returnurl=%2fplants%2fsearch-re...