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Field scabiosa

Field scabiosa

Knautia arvensis

Identify the Field scabiosa from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Very common

Alien species

Field scabiosa is a long‑lived meadow plant with flat, pin‑cushion‑like flower heads in pale pink to lilac‑blue. It grows 30–80 cm tall with grey‑green, softly bristly stems and leaves. You’ll see it in sunny grasslands, banks and road verges, blooming in late summer.

Did you know?

  • Ants often carry its small seeds to new spots.
  • The outer flowers are larger than the inner ones, giving the head a pin‑cushion look.

About the species

Identification

Perennial 30–80 cm tall. Stems grey‑green, softly bristly, branching above. Leaves at the base form a low circle that can stay green over winter; these are whole or slightly toothed. Along the stem the leaves sit in pairs and are usually cut into several narrow side parts with a larger end part, though sometimes all leaves are whole. Flower heads are flat and about 2–3 cm across, pale pink to lilac‑blue, with noticeably larger outer flowers; a small ring of leaf‑like pieces sits just below each head. Looks like devil’s‑bit scabious, but that has more ball‑shaped heads with evenly sized flowers and mostly uncut leaves. Flowers in Finland in July–August.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

meadow

Flowering

Jul–Aug

About the habitat

Open, sunny places on well‑drained ground: meadows, dry to fresh grasslands, slopes, field and road verges, pastures and light scrub. Common in southern and eastern Finland, scarce on the west coast, absent from Lapland.

Sources

Photo: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knautia arvensis - harilik äiatar.jpg

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Kulttuuriympäristöt: hakamaat, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39368

Text: Pinkka: Pieni maatalouslajintuntemus - Puuvartiset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39368

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39368

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketoruusuruoho

See also