''Xeranthemum'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the tribe

Cardueae The Cardueae are a tribe (biology), tribe of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and the subfamily Carduoideae. Most of them are commonly known as thistles; four of the best known genera are ''Carduus'', ''Cynara'' (containing the ...

within the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

, native to

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

. It has silvery

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

heads with purplish tubular flowers.

Species

Species include: # ''

Xeranthemum annuum ''Xeranthemum annuum'' is a flowering plant species also known as annual everlasting or immortelle. It is native to eastern Europe and western Asia, and is cultivated as a garden flower. It has become naturalised Naturalization (or naturali ...

'' L. ("annual everlasting"): Central + southern Europe from Spain to Dagestan; Turkey, Caucasus # '' Xeranthemum cylindraceum'' Sm.: Central + southern Europe from Portugal to Ukraine; Turkey, Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel # '' Xeranthemum cylindricum'' Spreng. # '' Xeranthemum inapertum'' (L.) Mill.: southern Europe, North Africa, southwest Asia from Morocco to Turkmenistan # '' Xeranthemum longepapposum'' Fisch. & C.A.Mey.: southeastern Europe, southwestern and central Asia # '' Xeranthemum squarrosum'' Boiss.: Greece, southwestern and central Asia

References

Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Asteraceae genera {{Cynareae-stub