GROWTH HABIT:Biennial or short lived perennial, up to 3 ft. tall.Rosette formed first year, flowering stalk elongates second year.
LEAVES:Long and divided below, short and narrow above.Covered with fine hair.
STEMS:Erect with slender wiry branches.Covered with fine hair.
FLOWERS:Seed heads mostly on branch tips, solitary, to 1¡± diameter.Pink to purple, rarely white.Seed head bracts are black tipped, with 5 to 7 pairs of short feathery appendages.
ROOTS:Taproot not well developed.
SEEDS:Brownish, ¨û¡± long, notched on one side of base, short tuft of bristles at tip end.
OTHER:Very aggressive, can infest large areas quickly, offers very little big game or livestock forage value.
SPOTTED KNAPWEED
(Centaurea maculosa Lam.)
GROWTH HABIT: Biennial or short lived perennial, up to 3 ft. tall. Rosette formed first year, flowering stalk elongates second year.
LEAVES: Long and divided below, short and narrow above. Covered with fine hair.
STEMS: Erect with slender wiry branches. Covered with fine hair.
FLOWERS: Seed heads mostly on branch tips, solitary, to 1¡± diameter. Pink to purple, rarely white. Seed head bracts are black tipped, with 5 to 7 pairs of short feathery appendages.
ROOTS: Taproot not well developed.
SEEDS: Brownish, ¨û¡± long, notched on one side of base, short tuft of bristles at tip end.
OTHER: Very aggressive, can infest large areas quickly, offers very little big game or livestock forage value.