Centaurea triumfettii, common names: Squarrose Knapweed, is a plant belonging to the genus Centaurea of the Asteraceae family.

Description

The Squarrose Knapweed is an herbaceous perennial plant. This plant grows to a height of about 30–60 centimetres (12–24 in). The leaves are undivided and narrow-lanceolate. The period of flowering is from May until August. The inner flowers are bright purple, the outer ones are azure blue or deep mauve.

Flower of Centaurea triumfettii

Flower of Centaurea triumfettii

Distribution

This species occurs in Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey Turkmenistan and United States.

Habitat

Centaurea triumfettii prefers dry and sunny places, in deciduous bushes, on meadows and subalpine grass slopes. The soil should be chalky. The species thrives at altitudes up to 2000 m above sea level. It is widespread in the mountains of southern and central Europe. Occasionally they are found as ornamental plant in gardens and parks.

References

• Zipcodezoo
• Euro+Med PlantBase - The information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity Centaurea
• Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia (3 vol.) - Edagricole – 1982, pag. 205 vol III