Centaurea Totally Explained

Everything about Centaurea totally explained

Centaurea (Cen-tau-ré-a,syn. Cyanus L.) 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 – Dusty Miller
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 horrida
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 moschata - Sweet Sultan
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 sadleriana – Pannonian knapweed
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 tchihatcheffii - Endangered species, Mogan Lake, Ankara, Turkey
Centaurea trichocephala
Centaurea triniifolia
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's abundant, some of it's 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 that feed on Centaurea. Image:Star thistle4708.JPG Image:Yellow star thistle.jpg|Centaurea solstitialis Image:CentaureaCyanus-bloem-kl.jpg|Centaurea cyanus Further Information

Get more info on 'Centaurea'.

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