Centaurea scabiosa

Marsh knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa ), flower heads with frayed Hüllblättchen

The Marsh knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa ) is a plant which belongs to the sunflower family ( Asteraceae). This wild meadow plant survives the winter as Hemikryptophyt with the help of their beet -like taproot. In the spring also vegetative root shoots can be formed therefrom. The self- sterile flowers are pollinated exclusively by insects.

Ecology

The spread of Achänenfrüchte carried by ants; also the wind spreader and " hakelnden " by the bracts are also animal shakers.

Of all the native plants, except by those of the genus Quercus, they will infest most of gall wasps; the infestation is indicated by thick, egg-shaped swellings of the stem.

Occurrence

The Marsh knapweed flowers in June to August. It is found on dry or semi- dry grasslands on moderately dry waste places along roadsides or in dry meadows. In extensively managed fields and on subalpine stone lawn it comes also available. It prefers calcareous soils. In Germany, their distribution ranges from scattered to fairly common. It is a plant of dry to semi-dry grasslands and also comes in the rest of Europe to West Asia before. In a few parts of North America it is found as a neophyte. Naturally, the Marsh knapweed grows only in the temperate latitudes of the flat into the hills of the Northern Hemisphere.

Also on subalpine stone lawn of the Alpine subspecies Centaurea scabiosa comes subsp. alpestris, which differs by black Hüllblättchen.

Description

The Marsh knapweed is a perennial herbaceous plant that can reach heights of growth of up to 1.20 m. It has an edgy, rough stalk that forms erect protruding branches across the middle, but which are not branched sparrig. The green and leathery, usually only little rough hairy leaves are pinnately divided. The pinna - sections are shaped oblong or narrowly lanceolate.

The single flowers are borne in a single terminal head, which in diameter is about 2 cm high and 4 cm wide. The bracts ( see Figure ) have no nerves. The appendages have frayed at the edge toothed or ciliate seam that runs down quite far. The color of the petals varies from dark purple on purple or bright red to rarely even white. The pappus is almost as long as the Achänenfrüchte.

Swell

• D. Aichele, M. Golte - Bechtle: What is blooming there, 54th Edition 1991 Kosmos Verlag? .
• Encke / Buchheim / Seybold: Zander, Dictionary of Plant Names, 15th Edition, ISBN 3-8001-5072-7.
• R. Duell / H. Kutzelnigg: Pocket Dictionary of Plants in Germany and neighboring countries, 7th Edition, Quelle & Meyer Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1