Centaurea margaritacea, Ten.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1976, Flora Europaea. Volume 4. Plantaginaceae to Compositae (and Rubiaceae), Cambridge University Press : 285-286

164. C. margaritacea Ten. , FI. Nap. 4, Syll. App. 3: 14 (1830)

( C. splendens auch, non L.).

Stems 15-120 cm, erect or ascending, branched from the middle, arachnoid-hairy. Leaves densely arachnoid-hairy or lanate; lower (l-)2-pinnatisect, with linear segments; middle pinnatisect; uppermost linear, undivided. Capitula solitary, rarely in groups of 2-3. Involucre 8-25 x 6-27 mm, ovoid or globose; bracts yellow; appendages 4-12 x 3-5-9 mm, orbicular or elliptical, concolorous or with dark basal spot, irregularly denticulate or lacerate, muticous or with apical spine. Florets pink, purple, white or yellow. Achenes 2-5 mm, white, brown or blackish, sometimes with white ribs; pappus shorter to longer than achene. S. part of U.S.S.R. Rs (C, W, E).

The following subspecies apparently represent the localized remnants of a former species of more continuous distribution (cf. D. Dobroczova, Ukr. Bot. Žur. 6(2): 63-65 (1949); M. Klokov, Trav. Inst. Bot. (Charkov) 1: 78-106 (1935); M. Iljin, Bull. Jard. Bot. URSS 26: 31-38 (1927)).

1 Involucre 8-13 x 6-10 mm; appendages with apical spine; achenes 2-4 mm

2 Appendages not covering bracts, oblong-elliptical, with brownish-purple central spot (b) subsp. breviceps 2 Appendages covering bracts, orbicular, with yellowish centre

(a) subsp. pseudoleucolepis 1 Involucre 11-25x9-27 mm; appendages muticous; achenes

3-5 mm

3 Appendages not pellucid

4 Florets white or yellowish; achenes white or pale brown

(c) subsp. margaritacea 4 Florets pale pink to purple, rarely whitish; achenes blackish when mature

5 Involucre 15-20 mm in diameter, globose; appendages covering the bracts, white; florets purple

(d) subsp. margaritalba 5 Involucre 11-15 mm in diameter, ovoid; appendages not completely covering the bracts, yellow or pale orange; florets pink, rarely whitish (e) subsp. protomargaritacea 3 Appendages pellucid, shining

6 Appendages 10-12 mm, keeled, apiculate, coriaceous along keel, the margin sometimes convolute

7 Florets whitish to pale yellow; involucre 22-27 mm in diameter; stem scabrid above (f) subsp. appendicata 7 Florets pink; involucre 16-17 mm in diameter; stem smooth above -« (g) subsp. konkae 6 Appendages 4-7 mm, indistinctly keeled, not distinctly apiculate, not coriaceous, the margin flat

8 Florets pink or pale purple, rarely white or yellowish; stem scabrid above

9 Appendages yellow, hard, convex (h) subsp. protogerberi 9 Appendages white with a dark basal spot, soft, not distinctly convex

10 Involucre globose; achenes pale brown (i) subsp. donetzica 10 Involucre ovoid; achenes blackish (j) subsp. pineticola 8 Florets pale yellow; stem smooth above

11 Involucre 15-25 x 15-25 mm, subglobose; appendages 8-9 mm wide, covering bracts (k) subsp. dubjanskyi

11 Involucre 11—19 x 9-19 mm, ovoid or subglobose; appendages c. 6 mm wide, not covering bracts

12 Appendages yellow; achenes blackish (1) subsp. gerberi

12 Appendages yellowish-brown, with dark purple central spot; achenes white (m) subsp. paczoskii