Knautia

Knautia
Knautia arvensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Subfamily: Dipsacoideae
Genus: Knautia
L.
Species

55; see text

Synonyms
  • Lychniscabiosa Fabr. (1759), nom. superfl.
  • Thlasidia Raf. (1838)
  • Trichera Schrad. ex Roem. & Schult. (1818)

Knautia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae. It includes 55 species native to Europe, North Africa, Western and Central Asia, and Siberia. The common names are variants of "widow flower". Others are given the name "scabious", which properly belongs to the related genus (Scabiosa). The name Knautia comes from the 17th-century German botanists, Drs. Christoph and Christian Knaut.