IDENTIFICATION
Regional Noxious. Perennial.
Meadow knapweed has many, large, rose-purple (occasionally white)
flowers, one to a branch. The bracts
are brown with a tattered fringe or comb at the tips. Leaves are lance-shaped,
becoming smaller and without lobes
towards the top of the plant. Mature plants are 40-100 cm tall.
DAMAGE
Meadow knapweed invades rangeland and pastures and can reduce yields
in hayfields. Typically it grows on roadsides and disturbed areas, where
it forms dense stands that hinder regrowth of desirable native species.
It is not known to establish in undisturbed natural plant communities.
HABITAT
Meadow knapweed infests roadsides and disturbed habitats at low-
to mid-elevations. It is classified as a noxious weed in the North Okanagan
region but it is also present in the Omineca, Thompson, Okanagan, Kootenay,
and Vancouver Island areas of the province.
SPREAD
Most seeds fall beside the plant, but they are also dispersed by birds
or by the wind.
