Taxon: Centaurea melitensis L.

Summary

Genus:

Centaurea

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Carduoideae

Tribe:

Cardueae

Subtribe:

Centaureinae

Nomen number:

316613

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:917. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

03/01/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

0 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System.

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Demilly, D. et al. 2001. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7 GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2000. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Auflage
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Marzocca, A. 1994. Guia descriptiva de malezas del cono sur. 79.
Ochsmann, J. 2001. Knapweeds (Centaurea L. and some related genera) in North America. Welcome to the Centaurea pages
Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
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).
Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
International Seed Testing Association wild species list

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	cockspur thistle	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	Maltese centaury	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	Maltese cockspur	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	Maltese star thistle	1	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).
English	Maltese thistle	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	Napa thistle	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	tocalote	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	wild Irishman	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	yellow cockspur	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
French	centaurée de Malte	2	Demilly, D. et al. 2001. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 7 GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France.
French	croix de Malte	2	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
German	Malteser Flockenblume	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2000. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Auflage
Portuguese (Brazil)	centáurea-estrela-de-malta	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Swedish	maltaklint	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya		n.w.	Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece		incl. Crete	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Montenegro			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain		incl. Baleares	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
3	Adventive	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
4	Naturalized	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Cabo Verde			Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Azores		Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California (Norte)		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	New Mexico		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Nevada		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	New Caledonia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador	Pichincha		Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45

Native
Africa

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

Europe

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

Adventive
Europe

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

Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde, Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Azores, Madeira 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 California (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

Reference(s)

Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
Sell, P. & G. Murrell. 1996-. Flora of Great Britain and Ireland.
Silva, L. et al. 2005. Listagem da fauna e flora terrestres dos Açores. Lista des plantas vasculares (Pteridophyta e Spermatophyta).
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=316613. Accessed 27 September 2026.