| Cephalaria | |
|---|---|
| Cephalaria gigantea Tatarian cephalaria |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Dipsacales |
| Family: | Dipsacaceae |
| Genus: | Cephalaria Schrad. ex Roem. & Schult. |
| Species | |
|
See text |
|
Cephalaria is a genus of about 65 species of flowering plants in the family Dipsacaceae, native to southern Europe, western and central Asia, and northern and southern Africa.
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:
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 (Huxley 1992).