Centaurea americana, commonly called American Starthistle or American Basketflower, is an annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

 native to the southern central United States and northeastern Mexico. Its common name comes from the underside of the inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

, which has a basket weave pattern on it and on the flowerbuds.

The pink petals look somewhat like a thistle with a cream colored center. Blooms are 4" in diameter and are held from May until June. The plant can reach 5-6' tall and has rough 4" long lance-shaped leaves.
The plant is often cultivated for its showy flowers, and can sometimes be found outside its native range as an escape from cultivation.