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Centaurea phrygia L.

Flora Europaea mesic to mesoxeric grassland element frequently acting like a ruderal and strongly favored by ruderalization through grazing or otherwise; frequent from the forest-steppe up to the lower nemoral belt west Palearctic Cirsio-Brachypodion, Arrhenatheretalia, Artemisietea vulgaris R 34, R38, R87 habitats in Romania a very common taxon         A very common and widespread species, frequently acting like a ruderal invader. A lot of other taxa, like Centaurea jacea L., Centaurea indurata Janka, Centaurea macroptilon Borbas, Centaurea nigrescens Willd.  which in other parts happen to provide pure populations and are sometimes placed even in different sections and even subgenera of the genus, in Transylvania commonly grow together, in the very same places and populations and intergrade widely. Practically they differ only in concerning the appendages of the involucral bracts. In our opinion they are varieties of the same species. Centaurea phrygia L. is a west Palearctic species. The picture below is taken at Podeni, Cluj county on 29th of July 2006 in a ruderalized mesic grassland. dr. Alexandru Badarau, alexandru@transsilvanica.com