Weed ID

SPOTTED KNAPWEED

Asteraceae or Sunflower Family
Centaurea maculosa

GROWTH HABIT: Biennial or short lived perennial, grows 1-3 feet tall.

LEAVES: Long and divided on lower, short and narrow above, covered with fine hairs.

STEMS: Erect with slender wiry branches, covered with fine hairs.

FLOWERS: On branched stem tips flowers are pink to purple, rarely white. The seed head has black tipped bracts.

ROOTS: Taproot, and well developed, fibrous.

SEEDS: Produces 1,000 seeds per plant, viable up to 9 years.

REPRODUCES: By seed.

HABITAT: Found in meadows, roadsides, native grasslands, pastures, and waste places.

"King of the weeds"