An introduced plant that has become a pest in cultivation.
Pronunciation
(sen-TAR-ee-uh)
Plant Type
All Plants, Annuals, Weeds, Biennials
Hardiness Zone
5
Sunlight
full
Moisture
average
Soil & Site
average
Flowers
flower consists of disk flowers, purplish, the outer ring of disk flowers are sterile, grows as a biennial
Fruit
seeds are achenes, have short comb-like pappus (fluff)
Leaves
alternate, pinnatifid with narrow divisions, first year grows as a basal rosette of leaves
Stems
if touched can cause an irritation
Roots
forms a tap root, roots exude a natural herbicide to ward off other plants
Dimensions
3 plus feet tall, erect
Propagation
spreads by seeds
Native Site
Native to Europe
Author's Notes
Wisconsin Point is a sand peninsula along Lake Superior. I read an article where a professor and his students where pulling this plant out. They were invasive and crowding out the native species and up setting the ecosystem. This is in zone #4.
Notes & Reference
#19-Common Weeds ( USDA Agricultural Research Service), #100-Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest (Black and Judziewicz), #136-Weeds of the Northern US and Canada (France Royer, Richard Dickinson),