E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Rhaponticum repens (L.) Hidalgo
Russian knapweed (hardheads)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Rhaponticum repens
Click here to view our interactive map and legend

Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, openly branched, densely woolly-hairy, 0.2-1.0 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate, irregularly pinnately-lobed to entire, 3-10 cm long, 1.0-2.5 cm wide; lower stem leaves smaller, pinnately-lobed; upper stem leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, entire or saw-toothed.

Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers; involucres 9-15 mm tall; involucral bracts in several unequal series, entire, more or less soft-hairy with widely papery tips; ray flowers white to blue, 12-16 mm long; receptacles bristly.

Fruits:
Achenes egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long, slightly compressed, glabrous; pappus of many bristles barbed below, feathery above, more or less deciduous.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry roadsides and disturbed areas in the steppe and montane zones; frequent in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Acroptilon repens
Centaurea picris Pallas ex Willd.
Centaurea repens

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Asteraceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-07-26 5:24:38 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.