Maltese Star-Thistle

centaurea melitensis

The Maltese Star-Thistle has bright yellow flowers that look like little stars! This plant is fun to find in the wild and is a food source for many insects.

Lebensraum: It typically grows in sunny grasslands and open fields.

Aussehen

The Maltese Star-Thistle has bright yellow, solitary flowers with sharp, spiny bracts that look like tiny stars or sunbursts. Its stems are slender and often branched, giving the plant a somewhat bushy appearance, and its leaves are grayish-green, often lobed or toothed.

ReichPlantaeStammTracheophytaKlasseMagnoliopsidaOrdnungAsteralesFamilieAsteraceaeGattungCentaurea

Maltese Star-Thistle

Kategorie

Pflanzen

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

It's an expert at surviving droughts, thanks to its super-long root system!

Its 'star' name comes from the spiky bracts beneath its yellow flowers!

The seeds have a feathery parachute, helping them float away on the wind to new homes!

This plant is often called a 'weed' because it's so good at growing almost anywhere!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Maltese Star-Thistle has sharp spines around its flowers and leaves that help protect it from hungry animals.

This plant can grow a super long taproot, helping it find water deep underground during dry spells.

Maltese Star-Thistle produces many seeds that can spread far, helping it pop up in lots of new places.

Maße und Details

Höhe: 10-90 cm
Ausbreitung: 30-60 cm
Blütengröße: 1-2 cm
Blütezeit: Late spring to mid-summer
Essbar: Ja
Giftigkeit: Leicht
Lebenszyklus: Einjährig
Bestäubungsmethode: Insekten

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

pollinates

European Honey Bee

Apis mellifera

collects nectar and pollen

eaten by

Star-thistle Flower Weevil

Larinus curtus

larvae feed on seeds within the flower head

eaten by

Domestic Cattle

Bos taurus

graze on young, less spiny plants

Merkmale

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.