CENTAUREA LANCIFOLIA

Family:- COMPOSITAE

Common Name:- None

Synonyms:- Wagenitzia lancifolia

Meaning:- Centaurea (Gr) Centaur, Centauros. The centaur Chiron was cured of a

hoof wound with this plant.

Lancifolia (L) With lance-shaped leaves, the leave long and narrow.

General description:- Long-lived perennial with a stout, woody stock bearing both

flowering stems and sterile rosettes

Stem:-

1) Several, usually simple, ascending to erect, 20-50 cm, leafy up to the capitulum.

Leaves:-

1) Lanceolate, acuminate, entire, scabrid, sessile, lanceolate, entire, green, with

short stiff hairs on both surfaces.

2) Basal petiolate.

3) Cauline, indistinctly auriculate at the base, sessile.

Flowers:-

1) Capitulum solitary, ovoid to broadly campanulate, 14-22 mm in diam. surrounded

by the upper leaves.

2) Bracts, outer ovate-triangular. the inner linear-oblong, covered by overlapping

appendages.

3) Appendage of middle phyllaries brown, palmately divided into 9-13 teeth or

spinules.

4) Involucre, 10-20 mm in diam.

5) Florets bright yellow, not radiant.

Fruit:-

1) Achenes 5-6 mm.

2) Pappus of equal length, consisting of pale brown bristles.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Crevices of limestone cliffs. 1700-2000 m.

Distribution:- Cretan endemic confined to the Lefka Ori and Dikti Mountains.

Extremely rare.

Flowering time:- Late June to early Aug.

Photos by:- Yannis Zacharakis

Status:-

Conservation status (for threatened species): Vulnerable (V) according

to the Red Data Book of Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece (1995).

IUCN 1997 Record it as Vulnerable (V).

Protection status (for threatened species): Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981,

Bern Convention, EU Dir.1992/43 (Ann.IV)