Kiowa Conservation District
PO BOX 688/ 7519 E. Hwy 86, Franktown, CO

303-621-2070 ext. 101

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Diffuse Knapweed
Centaurea diffusa

This weed is a diffusely branched annual or short-lived perennial, 1 to 2' tall, stems are rough to the touch.  Seedlings have finely divided leaves covered with short hair.  Herbicides are most effective when applied at this early growth stage.

Flowering heads are numerous and narrow.  Flowers are white to rose or sometimes purplish.  Margins of the bracts are divided like the teeth of a comb, and bracts are tipped with a definite slender spine.

Diffuse knapweed infests roadsides, waste areas and dry rangelands, and as a highly competitive plant, threatens to exclude may desirable species.  Flowering occurs from July to September.