Centaurea melitensis L., Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Maltese cockspur, Maltese star thistle, Napa thistle, yellow star thistle

French: coix de Malte

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual or biennial herbs; stems several from the base, 1-5 (-8) dm long, branched in upper part.  Leaves oblanceolate in outline, 5-10 cm long, pinnately lobed, upper leaves nearly linear, 1-3 cm long, base decurrent, forming narrow wings on the stem.  Heads in the upper leaf axils; involucre nearly globose, the bracts very firm, often arachnoid pubescent near the tip when young, abruptly constricted at apex to a sharp spreading tip 3-9 mm long, each margin with several very short spines near base of tip; corollas yellow, 8-10 mm long; pappus of bristles in several series, 3-4 mm long.  Achenes attached at a lateral notch slightly above the base"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 286).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in low elevation, dry habitats" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 286).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced	Pickard, J. (1984) (p. 205)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 18) "A weed of waste places. A.N. Rodd & J. Pickard, Cunninghamia 1: 278 (1983) suggested that it was only established briefly on Lord Howe Is. and has since died out". Voucher cited: J.D .McComish 206 (NSW)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 7) "A weed of waste places". Vouchers cited: W.R. Sykes NI 975 (CHR); 1902, J.H. Maiden & J.L. Boorman (NSW)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Ni‘ihau Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 286)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 32) Vouchers cited: Deplanche 226 s.loc., Cribs 949, Schlechter 15024

Additional information:  Additional online information about Centaurea melitensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Centaurea melitensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Pickard, J. 1984. Exotic plants on Lord Howe Island: Distribution in space and time, 1853-1981. J. of Biogeography 11:181-208.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).