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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Centaurea diluta (North African Star-Thistle) |
Centaurea diluta (ASTERACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Centaurea dilutaAiton
Published in Hort. Kew. 3: 261 (1789) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Asteraceae Bercht. & J.Presl (The Daisy or Sunflower Family) Previously included in Compositae
144 species from the Asteraceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | North African Star-Thistle, Lesser Star-Thistle, Pale-flowered Centaury |
Maltese name(s) : |
Xewk tal-Afrika ta\' fuq |
Status for Malta : |
Naturalised Alien. Species that was introduced in Malta after year 1492 (Columbus' discovery of the New World)
and spreads and integrates to form established, non-invasive populations.
Species may become become invasive if it widespreads rapidly. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Therophyte ( annual plants, herbaceous, die after fruiting/seeding stage ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
April – June |
Colour of Flowers: |
Pink or Violet |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Centaurea: ()
diluta: diluted, weak. (Latin origin)
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Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Annual, or less commonly a short-lived perennial herb, reaching up to 220 cm in height on fertile soils. Stems fairly branched below and profusely branched above within the inflorescence, covered throughout with very short hairs, though sometimes only sparsely so. Basal leaves form a rosette in young plants, petiolate and up to 18 cm long, gradually decreasing in size upwards along the stem (2-7 cm long) and becoming sessile, with a distinct winged or decurrent extension at their point of attachment. Basal leaves with a deeply pinnately lobed lamina; cauline leaves progressively less divided, the uppermost oblong-lanceolate and almost entire or irregularly shallowly lobed.
Inflorescence a widely spreading, profusely branched cyme, with small subtending leaves (1-2 cm long) occurring at regular intervals along the flowering branches. Flower heads with an ovoid involucre approximately 10-15 mm in diameter, enclosed by ovate involucral phyllaries. These possess a green central portion and a broad copper-brown, scarious appendage towards the apex, edged with short, blackish-brown spinose teeth about 0.8 mm long.
Ray florets magenta to bright purple and of two distinct types: the outer florets sterile, 24-30 mm long, with a long, narrow tube terminating in a fan-shaped 5-lobed limb; the inner florets more numerous, much shorter, not exceeding 18 mm in length, tubular and becoming white towards the lower half. Achenes (sometimes referred to as cypselae) 3-4 mm long, tan to clay-brown, topped by a pappus of white, simple, straight bristles of unequal length, 2-5 mm long.
(by Stephen Mifsud) | |
Habitat in Europe |
Data will be available in the next update of this website.
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Uncultivated fields, typically abandoned fields used for bird trapping, sometimes also found in margins of tilled fields and valley beds
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Chromosome number(s) |
2n=20 | |
Distributional range |
S.W. Spain a frequent casual elsewhere.
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Native region outside Europe |
N.W. Africa.
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics)
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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? Ag dCa(G T) Hs(S) Ma dMd(M) Tn [aAu(A) nAz(J M) aBe(B) nBl(M) aBr Ca(L) Ga(F) aGe aHe nIt aNo aPo nSi(S)]
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| Links & Further literature
(0 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Online Quotation (Seeds)
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
