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Centaurea cyanus

 Plant.—Growing 20 to 70 cm high, the annual or
biennial plant contains fusiform, pale tap roots. It has a

rosette of basal leaves and an erect, branched,
spiderweb - pubescent angular stem, covered in

alternate, sessile, entire, to 10cm long, 5mm wide,
faintly linear-lanceolate leaves.

 The basal leaves are lyre-shaped, pinnatafid and long-

petioled. The upper leaves are noncompound. Involucre
to 1.5 cm tall, imbricate, phyllaries with fimbriate

margins.

 The 3 - 4 cm wide flowers are solitary and terminal. The
tubular flowers are blue, the cultivated ones are usually

all purple-violet, pale pink or white. The lateral florets
are larger, in rays and funnel-shaped; marginal flowers

sterile, inner flowers smaller, fertile. The oblong gray
fruit is an achaene (a hemicarp), to 4 mm long, with the

remains of a tuft of hair (pappus of capillary bristles).

 .