222 COMPOSITE. [CENTAUREA. 



25. CENTAURE'A, L. 



Herbs of various habit. Leaves entire or cut, often spinous-toothed. 

 Involucre ovoid or globose ; bracts appressed, imbricate, entire and scarious, 

 or spinous, or dilated fringed or toothed ; receptacle flattish, bristly. 

 Corollas all tubular, oblique or 2-lipped, ventricose above ; outer usually 

 larger, neuter, inner 2-sexual ; lobes 5, slender. Filaments glandular ; 

 anthers with a long terminal coriaceous appendage, cells tailed or not. 

 Fruit compressed, basal areole oblique, top broad ; pappus-hairs short, 

 slender, scabrid, usually in many series, inner smaller often scaly, rarely 

 0. DISTRIB. Europe, W. Asia, N. Africa, America ; species 320. ETYM. 

 Mythical. 



SECTION 1. Ja'cea. Invol. bracts with a dilated broad appendage. 



1. C. ni'gra, L. ; leaves hispidulous lanceolate entire or distantly lobed, 

 peduncles leafy, pappus-scales short unequal or 0. Knapweed. 

 Meadows and pastures, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 1,600 ft. in Northumbld. ; 



Ireland; Channel Islands ; fl. June-Sept. Perennial. Stem f-3 ft., slender, 

 grooved, simple or branched. Leaves scattered, variable, lower petioled, 

 uppermost quite entire. Heads 1-1| in. diam. ; in vol. appendage very 

 variable, pale or dark brown, orbicular, pectinate on the margin or to the 

 axis. Flowers purple, outer often larger. Fruit grey. DISTRIB. W. 

 Europe ; iutrod. in N. America. 



C. ni'yra proper ; peduncles thickened, appendages of bracts dark brown 

 deeply pectinate. VAR. C. decip'iens, Thuill. (C. nigres'cens, Bab.) ; pedun- 

 cles slender, appendages paler, less deeply pectinate, spines much shorter, 

 pappus 0. S. counties. 



SECTION 2. Cy'anus. Invol. bracts not appendaged, their upper part 

 and margins scarious and pectinate or ciliate. 



2. C. Scabio'sa, L. ; erect, leaves deeply pinnatifid segments entire or 

 lobed, peduncles glabrous, involucre globose, bracts with brown pectinate 

 tip and margins, pappus as long as the fruit. Hard-heads. 



Dry pastures and waste places, from Sutherland southd. ; Ireland ; Channel 

 Islands ; fl. July-Sept. Rootstock woody. Stem 2-3 ft., grooved, sparingly 

 branched, clothed with soft hairs. Leaves 4-10 in., almost pinnate, seg- 

 ments obovate. Heads 1^-2 in. diam., rayed ; invol. bracts with a broad 

 brown tip which is decurrent on the sides of the bracts ; flowers bright 

 purple. Fruit grey, pubescent. DISTRIB. Europe, Siberia, W. Asia to 

 Persia. 



3. C. Cy'anus, L. ; erect, leaves narrow entire or lobes few spreading, 

 peduncles cottony, involucre ovoid, margins of bracts deeply toothed 

 scarious, pappus shorter than the fruit. Bluebottle, Cornflower. 



Cornfields, from Caithness southd. ; ascending to 1,000 ft. in the Highlands; 

 Ireland ; Channel Islands ; (a colonist, Wats.} ; fl. June-Sept. Annual or 

 biennial. Stem 1-2 ft., slender, grooved, sparingly branched. Leaves 2-4 

 in., variable, sessile, acute, lower f-1 in., upper ^ in. broad. Heads |-1 in. 

 diam., cobwebby ; teeth of bracts triangular, spreading, of outer white, of 



