The plant distributed in the nursery trade around the world as Centaurea gymnocarpa.
The handsome foliage of the cultivated Centaurea gymnocarpa.
Compare this plant to:
Artemisia stelleriana
Centaurea cineraria
Centaurea gymnocarpa
Centaurea ragusina
Constancea nevinii
Jacobaea maritima
Senecio vira-vira
Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum
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Hort.
Asteraceae
dusty miller, velvet centaurea
A possible garden hybrid closely related to the true species of this name.
Synonymy:
Centaurea cineraria (misapplied);
C. cineraria 'Colchester White' Hort.;
C. 'Colchester White' Hort.;
C. gymnocarpa 'Colchester White' Hort.
The garden plant grown under this name is now ubiquitous in the horticultural trade worldwide. This handsome gray leafed plant, with its delicate and lush feathery leaves has become the darling of container planting everywhere. It is used to compliment flowering annuals/perennials in the same manner as other 'dusty millers' over time. Easy to propagate, quick to produce ample foliage in a single season, growers incorporated it into their availability lists rapidly.
As a perennial in the ground in the mediterranean climates in which it will grow year-round, it is an easy and carefree plant, which can often take far less water then gardeners provide. Indeed, under normal irrigationpractices, this plant can become quite rangy and rank in growth, flopping ungracefully with the long-stalked lavender-purple flowers appear in spring. Grown leaner and with a more modest amount of water, a more compact and tidy form is had. In fact, this plant is known to subsist on winter rainfall alone in some mediterranean regions.
Cuttings strike very easily, especially in the cooler days of autumn. The plant commonly grown in gardens would not appear to set viable seed (this author has never been able to harvest any!). This and the tremendous vigor generally seen would seem to suggest that the plant we grow is a hybrid of the true C. gymnocarpa and a related species, or perhaps a
polyploidpolyploid mutant. This would certainly be borne out by casual comparison with photos of the 'fiordaliso' in the wild, which seem far less vigorous than even spartan island conditions would inspire. More investigation on this topic is warranted . . .
Seán O'Hara
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