Cephalaria is a genus of about 65 species of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae,[1] native to southern Europe, western and central Asia, and northern and southern Africa.

Cephalaria
Cephalaria gigantea
Tatarian cephalaria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Subfamily: Dipsacoideae
Genus: Cephalaria
Schrad. ex Roem. & Schult.
Species

See text

They are annual or perennial herbaceous plants growing to 0.8–2 m tall.

Cephalaria species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Schinia imperialis, which feeds exclusively on C. procera.

Selected species:

Cultivation and uses edit

Some species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens. The most popular species is C. gigantea, a perennial species from the Caucasus growing to 2 m tall, valued for its strong erect growth with dark green foliage and yellow flowers.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Cephalaria", The Plant List (version 1.1), retrieved 2014-09-19
  2. ^ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-47494-5.