Malta knapweed
| Malta knapweed | ||||||||||||
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Malta knapweed ( Centaurea melitensis ) |
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| Centaurea melitensis | ||||||||||||
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The Malta knapweed ( Centaurea melitensis ) is a species of knapweed ( Centaurea ) in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to the Mediterranean and is a neophyte in many areas of the world .
description
Vegetative characteristics
The Malta knapweed is a one to two year herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 30 to 60 centimeters. The above-ground parts of the plant are green, wire-haired. The upright, branched stem is winged.
The basal leaves are up to 8 centimeters long, pinnate and have four to five sections on each side. The stem leaves are less divided, surround the stem and have a sloping base.
Generative characteristics
The flowering period extends from April to August. The flower heads are arranged individually or in clusters of two to five at the ends of the branches. At the base or in the lower half of the stem there are often axillary baskets with cleistogamous flowers. The shell is pear-shaped with a diameter of up to 9 millimeters. The bracts are arranged like roof tiles and have a strong, up to 12 millimeter long spine at the top , with two to six shorter spines on each side. The flowers are all tubular, five-lobed and yellow. The outer flowers are sterile and enlarged, the inner ones fertile and small.
The achenes are up to 2.5 millimeters long.
Chromosome set
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.
Occurrence
The natural range of the Malta knapweed extends over the Mediterranean area with gaps in the east and northeast. The original distribution area extends from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Greece. There are also inconsistent occurrences in Central and Western Europe. It is a neophyte almost worldwide in regions with a Mediterranean or subtropical climate, namely in Macaronesia, in eastern, northeastern and southern Africa, in Australia, New Zealand, in North and South America, in Hawaii and in New Caledonia .
It grows on wasteland and along roadsides.
supporting documents
literature
- Ehrentraud Bayer, Karl Peter Buttler, Xaver Finkenzeller, Jürke Grau: Plants of the Mediterranean (= Steinbach's natural guide . Volume 17 ). Mosaik, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-570-01347-2 , p. 224 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Schönfelder, Ingrid Schönfelder: What blooms on the Mediterranean? 750 species (= Kosmos nature guide ). 4th edition. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-440-10211-4 .
- ↑ a b S. Talavera: Centaurea L. In: B. Valdés, S. Talavera, E. Fernández-Galiano (eds.): Flora Vascular de Andalucía Occidental. Volume 3, Ketres, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-85256-66-2 , p. 155 PDF .
- ^ A b Centaurea in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ↑ Werner Greuter: Compositae (pro parte majore) In: Werner Greuter, Eckhard von Raab-Straube (ed.): Compositae. : Datasheet Centaurea melitensis. at Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Berlin 2006–2009.
