Family: composites (Asteraceae)
Flowering time: June–October
Size: 30–120 cm
Habitat: dry meadows, dry sunny forests, clearings, sandy road edges
Fritschev glavinec (Centaurea scabiosa ssp. fritschii) is a tall herbaceous perennial with an upright, jagged stem that is heavily branched above the middle. It is leafy with large alternately arranged, lyre-shaped leaves that are bare and shiny on the upper side. The leaves are divided into narrow, thread-like to lanceolate lobes; only exceptionally are they entire. Side branches are vertically protruding, at their ends in summer large solitary heads with violet flowers appear. The egg-shaped heads are about 20 mm long, their diameter measures between 35 and 50 mm. The dark green involucral leaves have at the top a black comb-like appendage triangular in shape.
Fritschev glavinec grows on barren, i.e., nitrogen-poor, dry soils in sunny places. It is usually found on calcareous, basic ground in sunny spots, more rarely also in semi-shade. In our country, Fritschev glavinec is a widely distributed species, only in the northeastern part of Slovenia is somewhat rarer.
