Centaurea jacea L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Asteraceae

• Scientific Name

  Centaurea jacea L.

• Description

  Species Description - Habitally similar to C. nigra; invol 12–18 mm high, from a little narrower to a little broader than high; appendages of the invol bracts well developed, broad, tan to dark brown, the middle and outer ones rather irregularly lacerate, the inner ones less so and often deeply bifid; marginal fls almost always enlarged; pappus none; 2n=22, 44. Fields, roadsides, and waste places; native of Europe, now widely established in s. Can. and n. U.S., s. to W.Va. June–Sept.

• Common Names

  brown knapweed