| Centaurea maculosa | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Tribe: | Cynareae |
| Genus: | Centaurea |
| Species: | C. maculosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Centaurea maculosa Lam. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Centaurea beibersteinii (lapsus) |
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Centaurea maculosa, the Spotted Knapweed, is a species of Centaurea native to eastern Europe.
It has been introduced to North America[1] where it is considered an invasive plant species in much of the western United States and Canada.[2] Biological pest control agents are sometimes used against this plant, including the moths Agapeta zoegana and Metzneria paucipunctella, the weevils Bangasternus fausti, Larinus obtusus and Cyphocleonus achates, and the fruit fly Chaetorellia acrolophi .
Knapweed is a pioneer species found in recently disturbed sites or openings. Once it has been established at a disturbed site it continues to spread into the surrounding habitat. This species beats out its native competitors by at least three methods:
- A tap root that sucks up water faster than the root systems of its neighbors,
- Quick spread through high seed production, and
- Low palatability, meaning that it is less likely to be chosen as food by herbivores. It is also suspected to be allelopathic, releasing a toxin from its roots that stunts the growth of nearby plants of other species.
Its seed is an achene about a quarter of an inch long with a small bristly pappus at the tip which makes the wind its primary means of dispersal. The leaves are a pale grayish green. They are covered in fine short hairs. The lower leaves arrange a basal rosette, alternate, up to 6 inches long, deeply divided into lobes. Stem leaves less lobed progressively getting smaller toward the top. The stem is erect or ascending, slender, hairy and branching which can grow up to three feet tall.
Its roots exude a substance called catechin, which makes phosphorus more available in certain soils.
References
- ^ Mauer, T., Russo, M.J., and Evans, M. (2001). Element stewardship abstract for Centaurea maculosa, spotted knapweed. The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved online: 14 July 2007.
- ^ Fire Ecology
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