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Centaurea nigra |
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| Common name |
knapweed |
| Family |
asteraceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial |
| Flowers |
purple (summer) |
| Size |
2-3' |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
From seed  |
reseeds in our garden
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Bushy plants with purple bachelor's buttons-type flowers. The close-up photo is typical - it's hard to find a flower without some insect sipping the nectar when knapweed is in flower. Not the most refined plant, but nice in a looser area of the garden (that is, most areas of our garden :-)
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This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away... About my plant portraits
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Sarah | Jul 31, 2008 | Knapweed is actually a carcinogenic plant, so you should always wear gloves when handling it. Grounds crews are usually instructed to pull knapweed, and take many precautions when doing so. I'm surprised you have this in your garden. If you want a similar flower, try monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot/bee balm)instead.
That's the first I've heard of its carcinogenic properties. I did find several references that confirm your statement, including this one. In fact we no longer grow this centaurea species (although it still shows up as a weed occasionally) - but several other centaureas are common garden plants. I wonder if they are all potentially harmful? |
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Last modified:
July 18, 2004
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