Common names:

• cockspur thistle  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• Maltese centaury  (Source: F NAmer) - English
• Maltese cockspur  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• Maltese star thistle  (Source: State Noxweed Seed) - English
• Maltese thistle  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• Napa thistle  (Source: F NAmer) - English
• tocalote  (Source: F NAmer) - English
• wild Irishman  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• yellow cockspur  (Source: Aust Pl Common Names) - English
• centaurée de Malte  (Source: L Noms French ed7) - French
• croix de Malte  (Source: F NAmer) - French
• Malteser Flockenblume  (Source: Zander ed16) - German
• centáurea-estrela-de-malta  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• maltaklint  (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish

Economic Importance:

• Weed: potential seed contaminant ()

Distributional Range:

Native

Africa

• NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Libya (n.w.), Morocco, Tunisia

Europe

• SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Montenegro
• SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France (incl. Corsica), Portugal, Spain (incl. Baleares)


Adventive

Europe

• NORTHERN EUROPE: Norway, United Kingdom
• MIDDLE EUROPE: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Switzerland


Naturalized

Africa

• MACARONESIA: Cape Verde, Portugal, [Azores, Madeira Islands] Spain [Canary Islands]
• NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia
• EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya
• SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Australasia

• AUSTRALIA: Australia
• NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

• WESTERN CANADA: Canada [British Columbia]
• NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania]
• NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin]
• NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Idaho, Oregon, Washington]
• SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi]
• SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico, Texas]
• SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah]
• NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja Norte]

Pacific

• NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
• SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: New Caledonia

Southern America

• WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, [Pichincha] Peru
• SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay

References:

1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
2. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. Flora of Libya. (F Libya)
3. Allan, H. H. B. et al. Flora of New Zealand. (F NZeal)
4. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45. 1993 (L Peru)
5. Demilly, D. et al. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7. 2001 (L Noms French ed7)
6. Erhardt, W. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Auflage. 2000 (Zander ed16)
7. Euro+Med Editorial Committee Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource). (EuroMed Plantbase)
8. FNA Editorial Committee Flora of North America. (F NAmer)
9. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. 2003 (Pl SAfr ed2)
10. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
11. Hansen, A. & P. Sunding Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17. (L Macar ed4)
12. Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards Flora of Ethiopia. 1989- (and Eritrea. 2000) (F Ethiop)
13. Hnatiuk, R. J. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. (L Aust)
14. Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979 (Atlas WWeed)
15. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource). (Pacif I Ecosyst Risk)
16. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. (F ConoSur)
17. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS) Australian plant common name database (on-line resource). (Aust Pl Common Names)
18. Izquierdo Z., I. et al., eds. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. 2004 (L Canarias)
19. Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75. 1999 (L Ecuador)
20. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia. 1993 (Econ Pl Aust)
21. Marzocca, A. 1994. Guia descriptiva de malezas del cono sur 79.
22. Ochsmann, J. Knapweeds (Centaurea L. and some related genera) in North America (Centaurea Pages)
23. Pottier-Alapetite, G. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones. (F Tunis)
24. Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually). (State Noxweed Seed)
25. Sell, P. & G. Murrell Flora of Great Britain and Ireland. (F GB Ire)
26. Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. Flora of India. (F India)
27. Silva, L. et al. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta). (L Azores)
28. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. Flora of tropical East Africa. (F TE Afr)
29. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. Flora europaea. (F Eur)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2018. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=316613. Accessed 20 June 2018.