Scientific name: Knautia arvensis (L.) Coult.
Common name: Field Scabious
Description
Habit: A hairy perennial, to 1 m high.
Stems: Erect.
Leaves: Opposite, without stipules, 10-18 mm long; lowest leaves simple and toothed, upper leaves pinnate.
Flowers: Bluish lilac, numerous in large, ovoid to conical, dense, terminal, flat-topped heads; flower-head surrounded by an involucre of lanceolate bracts, which are shorter than the flower-head, outer flowers larger and more irregular than the inner; each flower surrounded by a cup-shaped epicalyx; calyx with 8 fine, long, bristle-like teeth; corolla slightly irregular; with a long tube and 4 lobes; stamens 4; ovary inferior, style solitary.
Fruits: An achene.
Habitat: Banks, walls, roadsides and meadows.
Distribution: Occasional to frequent on limestone, not recorded elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No