- Appearance
- Centaurea diffusa is a biennial, annual, or short-lived perennial that is 8-40 in. (20.3-101.6 cm) tall.
- Foliage
- The leaves are stalked and lobed. The leaves become smaller and less divided as they move up the stem.
- Flowers
- Flowering occurs from July to September. White flowers develop in urn-shaped heads, in clusters, at the ends of the branches. The heads are subtended by leathery bracts. The lower and middle bracts have brown margins with spines at the tips.
- Fruit
- Seeds are achenes, 0.08-0.12 in. (2-3 mm) long with a plume of bristle-like hairs.
- Ecological Threat
- This species prefers well drained soils, gravel pits, trails, pastures and roadsides.
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