Centaurea depressa
M. Bieb.
Gokcebas
(c) faluke, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by faluke
(c) Nasser Halaweh, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Nasser Halaweh
(c) Shahrzad Fattahi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Root, Leaves, Flowers - tea
The root can be cooked and eaten, and has an agreeable flavour.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
Central Asia, Europe, Iran, Mediterranean, Middle East, Tajikistan, Turkey,
How to Identify
Annual to perennial growing 0.3 m tall, hardy to UK zone 7, flowering July to August. Hermaphrodite and self-fertile, pollinated by bees, flies, and butterflies. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage; tolerates mildly acid through very alkaline pH. Full sun needed; handles both dry and moist soils with good drought tolerance.
How to Grow
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils. A very ornamental plant. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.
Propagation: Sow seed in April in a cold frame. Once seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them into individual pots and plant out into permanent positions during the summer. Seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe in late summer in a greenhouse, with plants going out the following late spring. Division in autumn works well — larger clumps can be replanted directly, while smaller ones are better potted up and grown on in a cold frame until rooted, then planted out in summer or the following spring. Divide at least every three years to maintain plant vigour. For basal cuttings in spring, take shoots about 10–15cm long with plenty of underground stem, pot individually, and hold in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until well rooted before planting out in summer.
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Other Uses
None known.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Centaurea depressa, the low cornflower, is a species of Centaurea. It is native to southwestern and central Asia. Its common name is Iranian knapweed. The plant grows to 0.3 m (1 ft) tall and flowers from July to August. It can grow in nutritionally poor soil and is drought tolerant.
Notes
There are 400 to 600 Centaurea species.
Names & Synonyms
Gokbas, Peygamber cicegi, Tay Boncugu
References (7)
- Ari, S., et al, 2015, Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in Afyonkarahisar-Turkey. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 11:84
- Dogan, A. & Tuzlaci, E., 2015, Wild Edible Plants of Pertek (Tunceli-Turkey). Marmara Pharmaceutical Journal 19: 126-135
- Ertug, F., 2000, An Ethnobotanical Study in Central Anatolia (Turkey). Economic Botany Vol. 54. No. 2. pp. 155-182
- Fl. taur.-cauc. 2:346. 1808
- Kargioglu, M., et al, 2008, An Ethnobotanical Survey of Inner-West Anatolia, Turkey. Human Ecology 36:763-777
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- Rivera, D. et al, 2006, Gathered Mediterranean Food Plants - Ethnobotanical Investigations and Historical Development, in Heinrich M, Müller WE, Galli C (eds): Local Mediterranean Food Plants and Nutraceuticals. Forum Nutr. Basel, Karger, 2006, vol 59, pp 18–74
