Scientific name: Centaurea nigra L.
Common name: Blackheads, Knapweed
Description
Habit: A slightly hairy perennial, 35-80 cm high.
Stems: Hard, branched.
Leaves: Oblong, alternate; lower ones stalked and deeply lobed, upper ones stalkless and undivided.
Flowers: Pink to purple, flower-heads 25 mm across; involucral bracts with very finely toothed apical portion; florets all tubular, outer ones sometimes much larger and without stamens or pistil; receptacle with bristles.
Fruits: An achene, pappus of short, stiff, scaly bristles, or rarely absent.
Habitat: Meadows, pastures, roadsides.
Distribution: Very frequent to abundant everywhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No