SimplePlant

Asteraceae

Common knapweed

Centaurea nigra L.

Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Centaurea

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Common knapweed: Centaurea nigra , photographed on Crock Point, North Devon, on the South West Coast Path.
Photo: Julie Anne Workman, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (19)
Arabic
قنطريون أسود
arz
قنطريون اسود
Asturian
Centaura
Chinese
黑矢车菊
Croatian
Crnoresa zečina
Czech
Chrpa černá
Dutch
Zwart knoopkruid
English
Common knapweed, Lesser knapweed, Hardhead, Hardhead knapweed
Finnish
Mustakaunokki
German
Schwarze Flockenblume
Irish
Mínscoth
Italian
Fiordaliso scuro
Japanese
クロアザミ
kw
Paderow pronter
Lithuanian
Juodoji bajorė
Norwegian Bokmål
Svartknoppurt
Spanish
Aciano negro, Canamones, Jacea carpetana, Jacea nigra
Swedish
Svartklint
Welsh
Y bengaled

Synonyms

  • Centaurea austriaca Rchb.
  • Centaurea austriaca f. austriaca
  • Centaurea austriaca subsp. austriaca
  • Centaurea babingtonii Lacaita ex Hayek
  • Centaurea jacea subsp. nigra (L.) Bonnier & Layens
  • Centaurea leucocephala Schur
  • Centaurea moritziana Hegetschw.
  • Centaurea nervosa Rchb. ex Steud.
  • Centaurea nigra f. nigra
  • Centaurea nigra var. decipiens Bab.
  • Centaurea nigra var. mairei Arènes
  • Centaurea nigra var. nigra
  • Centaurea nigrescens DC.
  • Centaurea nigricans Link ex Spreng.
  • Centaurea obscura Jord.
  • Centaurea pectinata var. fuscata Rouy
  • Centaurea phrygia Lapeyr. ex Willk. & Lange
  • Centaurea phrygia var. phrygia
  • Centaurea rufescens Noulet ex Nyman
  • Cyanus niger Gaertn.
  • Cyanus phrygius G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.
  • Cyanus plumosus Gilib.
  • Cyanus pumilus Baumg.
  • Phrygia nigra (L.) Gray

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced, St. Pierre and Miquelon: introduced

Photos

More in Centaurea

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.