Centaurea cineraria L.
Perennial. Stems erect, ribbed, branched above, 50-75 cm tall, with dense silvery felted tomentum. Lvs not decurrent on stems, with silvery or greyish felted tomentum dense beneath and dense to sparse above; lower lvs petiolate, deeply (1)-2-pinnatisect, 8-20 × 3-6 cm, with oblong to linear segments; upper lvs sessile, smaller, 1-(2)-pinnatisect. Capitula not clustered. Involucre ovoid to campanulate, 13-16 mm diam.; outer and middle bracts ovate to lanceolate, 3-(5)-veined, with sparse flattened cobwebby hairs; appendages erect, fimbriate, not covering bracts, membranous, not narrowed at junction with bract, decurrent c. 1/2way to base of bract; fimbriae 7-10 on each side, pale to dark brown, c. 1 mm long. Florets purple, the outer weakly radiate. Corolla glandular. Achenes 4-5 mm long, pubescent; pappus c. 0.5 mm long.
N.: Northland (Kaikohe and Waitakere Range).
Italy 1988
Waste land, forest margins.
FL Nov-Dec FT Nov-Jan.
C. cineraria is distinguished from all other Centaurea spp. naturalised in N.Z. by the deeply (1)-2-pinnatisect basal lvs with conspicuous greyish to silvery felted tomentum.
