Weed ID

DIFFUSE KNAPWEED

Asteraceae or Sunflower Family
Centaurea diffusa

GROWTH HABIT: Annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial, grows 1-2 feet tall.

LEAVES: Divided into linear segments, broadly lance-shaped in outline, grayish-green in color, and covered with a thin layer of wooly hairs.

STEMS: Numerous spreading branches. One to many sparsely hairy stems grow out of the basal rosette and are rough textured.

FLOWERS: Flowers are white to rose or sometimes pink and purple. Bracts, located under the flower petals, from stiff, cream to brown colored spines divided into spreading comb-like teeth. Blooms from June to September.

ROOTS: Deep taproots.

SEEDS: Seed production averages 11,200 to 48,100 seeds per square meter.

REPRODUCES: By seed.

HABITAT: Roadsides, waste areas, dry rangelands, and pastures. Sea level to over 5,000 feet.

"Diffusing this knapweed can be tougher than it looks"