Taxonomy: Fam. Compositae// Genus: Centaurea// Species: Centaurea benedicta (L.) L.
Determined according to the botanical key provided in Flora Europaea Vol. 4 (Tutin et al., 1976) as Cnicus benedictus L. The accepted name in The Euro+Med PlantBase (source: Greuter, 2006+) is Centaurea benedicta (L.) L.
Lifeform: Annual; therophyte according to the Raunkiær system.
Distribution: Native from Central and South Europe to Xinjiang (China) and West Asia according to the distribution information provided by the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Habitat: Open habitats- grasslands/ pastures, edges of forests, rocky terrains, roadsides.
Flowering period: Late spring- early summer: MAY, JUN.
Centaurea benedicta – habit. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – habit. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – habit. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – flowering stem with capitulum. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – capitulum. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – capitulum – florets and inner involucral bracts. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – capitulum. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – involucre of capitulum. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – spent capitulum. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – spent capitulum. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – stem with leaves. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – stem with leaves. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – stem with leaves. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – abaxial side of leaf. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – abaxial side of leaf. Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – achenes. Scale in mm. Specimen from Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.Centaurea benedicta – achenes. Scale in mm. Specimen from Osogovo, ridge between the gorges of “Kochanska” River and “Orizarska” River, 04.06.2022. Photo by Trajche Dimitrovski.
References:
Centaurea benedicta. Greuter, W. (2006+): Compositae (pro parte majore). – In: Greuter, W. & Raab-Straube, E. von (ed.): Compositae. Euro+Med Plantbase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published on the Internet https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/58c7ee33-a8bd-4668-91b1-5a773a06478a [Accessed 05.11.2022].
Osogovo nature 