Centaurea sulphurea
Encyclopedia
Centaurea sulphurea is a species of Centaurea
. It is native to southwestern Europe
and it is known on other continents as an introduced species
and often a noxious weed. It is one of the closest relatives to Centaurea solstitialis, an extremely invasive thistle in California, but has only established several populations in the state since its introduction in the mid-19th century.
Centaurea
Centaurea is a genus of between 350 and 600 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich...
. It is native to southwestern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and it is known on other continents as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and often a noxious weed. It is one of the closest relatives to Centaurea solstitialis, an extremely invasive thistle in California, but has only established several populations in the state since its introduction in the mid-19th century.