Photographs: the Burren, Co. Clare

Greater Knapweed Centaurea scabiosa Mínscoth mhór Family: Asteraceae Flowering time: July-August. Perennial. Native. The large pink-purple flowers have enlarged outer florets and green bracts with a blackish apex. Leaves are deeply pinnate with lanceolate segments and the erect stems are branched and grooved. Calcareous grassland, roadsides, scrubland and un-stable sea-cliffs. Scattered distribution but most frequent in western Ireland Similar: The rayed form of Common Knapweed, C. nigra var. radiata has blackish-brown bracts and grows on acidic ground.

Greater Knapweed, Centaurea scabiosa, Minscoth mhor