Calflora
Taxon  Report   1845    
Centaurea calcitrapa  L.
Purple star thistle,   Red star thistle
Centaurea calcitrapa, a dicot, is an annual or perennial herb that is not native to California.
Cal-IPC rating: Moderate
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Observation Search
(3968 records)
one or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle

Bloom Period
Family: Asteraceae  
Genus: Centaurea

Habitat: disturbed

Communities: weed, characteristic of disturbed places

Name Status:
Accepted by PLANTS
More information about  Centaurea calcitrapa

Centaurea: from the Latin and a reference to the Centaur Chiron who was supposed to have discovered the medicinal uses of a plant in Greece that came to be called Centaury (contributed by Cynthia Powell)

calcitrapa: from the Latin calcitro, "to kick," caltrop, a four-pointed weapon usually positioned on the ground to impede enemy movements (contributed by Cynthia Powell)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. [web application]. 2021. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 07/28/2021).