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 ntroduced |
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Common name: Bighead Knapweed, Yellow Hardhead, Giant Knapweed, Armenian Basketflower, Lemon Fluff Knapweed
Botanical name: Centaurea macrocephala Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family)
Bighead knapweed is a perennial cornflower 2-5 feet tall,
depending on the habitat. The plant stems are upright and unbranched,
terminating in a single flower head. The leaves are broadly lance shaped with
toothed edges and pointed tips, and they have a rough surface. Basal or
rosette leaves are stalked and they can reach 15 inches long and three inches
wide. The leaves and leaf stalks are progressively smaller upward on the plant
stem, with the top leaves being stalkless. The solitary yellow flower heads are globe
shaped, and one to three inches in diameter. The bracts beneath the flower
head have thin, papery, fringed margins. The lower bracts show evidence of
spines. The seeds are medium brown and ridged, with a
ring of light-colored bristles. Bighead knapweed is native to Armenia and
Romania. It is found in fields and grassy areas of the upper mountainous
region of the Caucasus Mountains.
| Photographed in Sundar
Nursery, Delhi. |
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