Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

Mediterranean Basin

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Uncommon

About

This thorny annual plant grows in dry, open fields across the Mediterranean. Its sharp spines can grow up to two centimeters long to deter any creatures from grazing.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Asterales

Family

Asteraceae

Genus

Centaurea

Species

Centaurea solstitialis