Common name:
Greater knapweed
Family:
Scientific name:
Centaurea scabiosa
Main flower color:
Range:
Most of England and Wales, especially in the south and central regions
Height:
Between 30 cm and 80 cm
Habitat:
Grassland, roadsides, hedgerows, mostly on calcareous soils
Flowers:
Flowerheads are up to 6 cm in diameter, formed of many narrow, pink to purple (occasionally white) florets; those at the edge are spreading, wider and elongated. The overlapping, triangular bracts around the involucre are green at the base and centre, and brown at the top, and are fringed with bristly spines. Flowerheads are solitary
Leaves:
Oblong, deeply pinnately lobed, with a few teeth, or lobes, along the edges
Season:
June to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
