Taxon: Centaurea jacea L.

Summary

Genus:

Centaurea

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Carduoideae

Tribe:

Cardueae

Subtribe:

Centaureinae

Nomen number:

9821

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:914. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

03/01/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Centaurea pratensis Thuill.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Cabrera, A. L. & E. M. Zardini. 1978. Manual de la flora de los alrededores de Buenos Aires.
Clapham, A. R. et al. 1962. Flora of the British Isles, ed. 2.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 272.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Erhardt, W. et al. 2000. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Auflage
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1963. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.
Hardy, O. J. & X. Vekemans. 2001. Patterns of allozyme variation in diploid and tetraploid Centaurea jacea at different spatial scales. Evolution 55:943-954.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jarvis, C. E. & N. J. Turland, eds. 1998. Typification of Linnaean specific and varietal names in the Compositae (Asteraceae). Taxon 47:357. Note: typification
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Marzocca, A. 1994. Guia descriptiva de malezas del cono sur. 79.
Munz, P. A. & D. D. Keck. 1959. A California flora.
Ochsmann, J. 2001. Knapweeds (Centaurea L. and some related genera) in North America. Welcome to the Centaurea pages
Radford, A. E. et al., eds. 1980-. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States.
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
Stace, C. 1995. New flora of the British Isles.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Vanderhoeven, S. et al. 2002. A morphometric study of populations of the Centaurea jacea complex (Asteraceae) in Belgium. Pl. Biol. 4:403-412.
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	brown knapweed		1	Stace, C. 1995. New flora of the British Isles.
English	brown-ray knapweed		1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English (Canada)	brown knapweed	Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 272.
French	centaurée jacée		2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
French	jacée		2	Ochsmann, J. 2001. Knapweeds (Centaurea L. and some related genera) in North America. Welcome to the Centaurea pages
French	jacée des prés		2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
French (Canada)	centaurée jacée	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 272.
German	Wiesen-Flockenblume		2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2000. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Auflage
Swedish	rödklint		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Altay		Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Gorno-Altay		Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Novosibirsk		Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Tyumen	s.	Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey		n.e.	Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria		s.e.	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sicily	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Montenegro			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Serbia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Krasnoyarsk	s.	Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	New South Wales		Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland	s.e.	Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France	Corse		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	New Brunswick		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Québec		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Iowa		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maine		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Hampshire		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	West Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Montana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Delaware		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Subarctic America	Greenland			FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Turkey (n.e.)
CAUCASUS: Georgia
SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Altay, Gorno-Altay, Novosibirsk, Tyumen (s.)]

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria (s.e.), Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Croatia, Italy (incl. Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal

Adventive
Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: United Kingdom

Naturalized
Asia-Temperate

SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Krasnoyarsk (s.)]

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales, Queensland (s.e.)]

Europe

MIDDLE EUROPE: Belgium
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France [Corse]

Northern America

SUBARCTIC AMERICA: Greenland
EASTERN CANADA: Canada [Québec, Ontario, New Brunswick]
WESTERN CANADA: Canada [British Columbia]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Delaware, Maryland, Virginia]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California, Utah]

Southern America

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile

Reference(s)

Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Krasnoborov, I. M., ed. 2000-. Flora of Siberia (English translation)
Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=9821. Accessed 17 April 2026.