Brown Knapweed

(Centaurea jacea)

 

Color Drawing: O. W. Thome (1885-1905), Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Brown Knapweed (Centaurea jacea)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Flower consisting of a large, ovate base (receptacle) topped with a large spray of tubular rose to lavender florets. Florets elongate with divided apices. Bracts flat and ovate with a ragged outer margin, but without a regular comb of long setae. Upper leaves linear without subdivisions or teeth. Lower leaves with long staks and usually with some weak teeth and a couple of teeth at the base of the leaf. Plant 1 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: Southern Canada southward to Iowa, Illinois, and Virginia. Also known from the Pacific Northwest.

Habitat: Brown Knapweed is a weed commonly found in a variety of disturbed habitats such as fields, empty lots, and roadsides.

Flowering period: June to September.

Brown Knapweed (Centaurea jacea)

Similar Species: The absence of a regular line of spines on the flower bracts will separate this species from other species of Centaurea.

Similar Species

No Similar Species