Centaurea jacea nothosubsp. pratensis

Family: Asteraceae · Type: Perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

meadow knapweed is a naturalized perennial found in northern coastal ranges and cascade ranges in grasslands, disturbed places, and montane forests at elevations of 150 to 1,100 meters. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces pale flower heads with radiant disk flowers up to 22 millimeters long. Growing with erect stems, it forms dense clusters in open areas. Its flower heads have distinctive phyllary tips with light to dark brown appendages that are coarsely dentate or dissected into fine, wire-like lobes. The plant spreads readily in disturbed habitats, with white or tan pappus scales developing on its fruits.

Habitat: Grassland, disturbed places, montane forest

Bloom period: Aug-Oct

Elevation: 150-1100 m

Bioregions: NCoRO, CaR

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.