''Centaurea montana'', the perennial cornflower, mountain cornflower, bachelor's button, montane knapweed or mountain bluet, is a species of flowering plant in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Asteraceae,

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Europe. It is widespread and common in the more southerly mountain ranges of Europe, but is rarer in the north. It escapes from gardens readily, and has thereby become established in the British Isles, Scandinavia and North America. This plant has become an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

in British Columbia, Canada. ''Centaurea montana'' grows in meadows and open woodland in the upper montane and sub-alpine zones, in

basic Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...

areas. It grows to tall, and flowers mainly from May to August. ''Centaurea montana'' may be distinguished from other ''Centaurea'' species in the region by its usually entire leaves, and the blue-purple colour of the outermost ray florets. It may be distinguished from the

cornflower ''Centaurea cyanus'', commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button (among other names), is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields (in the broad sense of "co ...

, ''Centaurea cyanus'', by having a single (rarely up to three)

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

, and by its being perennial, whereas the cornflower has many flower heads and is annual. The closely related '' C. triumfettii'' has more narrowly winged stems, narrower leaves and grows in rockier areas.

Taxonomy

The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''montana'' refers to mountains or coming from mountains.

Ornamental use

''Centaurea montana'' grows in gardens where it grows best in sunny positions. It tolerates some light shade. Since the plant is

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

it can use the light in winter and early spring when

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees and shrubs have no leaves. It tolerates deciduous shade better than evergreen shade and prepares to flower while deciduous plants are bare. Therefore, it can flower reasonably well in light deciduous shade. If the plant is dug up, a new plant can eventually regenerate from small pieces of root left in the soil. ''Centaurea montana'' grows well in soils varying from light sand to heavy clay. The plant also grows well in acid, neutral or very alkaline soils. It tolerates drought but cannot tolerate waterlogged conditions. The

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

considers it a good plant to attract pollinators, and it is widely available from commercial suppliers. This plant is inedible; however, it is considered to be a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

in Central Europe.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q819191

montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Garden plants of Europe Alpine flora Flora of Southwestern Europe Flora of Middle Europe Flora of Italy Flora of Yugoslavia Flora of the Baltic states Flora of Northwest European Russia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus