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Basket Flower

10 images Created 1 Feb 2021

Centaurea americana

Reaching up to five feet for the sun, this flower sure looks like a thistle. Technically, it’s not, however, lacking the prickly spines that define the thistle family.

Other common names include the Shaving Brush, American Basket-flower, or just plain Basket-flower. Perhaps this name identifies its most distinguishing characteristic - a tightly interwoven basket of pale bracts that seem to support the flower head. Before the flower heads open, it is tightly bunched, erupting straight out of the basket, and giving the appearance of an old-fashioned shaving brush.

The stem branches, creating a layer of flower heads on each plant, each with delicately branched disk flowers. The flower heads can reach four to five inches in diameter, providing a highlight for May and June.
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  • Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Austin County, TX
    Basket Flower_Wildflower_TX AB_11051...jpg
  • Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Austin County, TX
    Basket Flower_Wildflower_TX AB_11051...jpg
  • Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Austin County, TX
    Basket Flower_Wildflower_TX AB_11051...jpg
  • Basket Flower (Centaurea americana), Austin County, Texas
    Basket Flower_Wildflower_TX AB_11051...jpg
  • Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Austin County, TX
    Basket Flower_Wildflower_TX AB_11051...jpg
  • Basket Flower (Centaurea americana), Austin County, Texas
    Basket Flower_Wildflower_TX AB_11051...jpg
  • American star-thistle or Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
    AB_070710_Z8Q4649.dng
  • American star-thistle or Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
    AB_070710_Z8Q4655.dng
  • American star-thistle or Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
    AB_070710_Z8Q4666.dng
  • American star-thistle or Basket Flower, Centaurea americana, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
    AB_070710_Z8Q4667.dng