The Silver Fleece of the Centaur

Habit: A perennial plant with a silvery appearance, entirely covered in a white tomentum. Stems: Erect, slender, generally simple or only sparsely branched. Leaves: Lower leaves 5-7 cm long, lyrate, with a dominant lanceolate-acute terminal segment and 1-3 pairs of reduced lateral segments. Stem leaves lanceolate, the upper ones tending to be entire. Flowers: Large reddish-purple capitula, 20-25 mm wide, positioned in the axils of the upper leaves. The hemispherical involucre, 15-20 mm wide, is crucial for identification: the bracts bear an oval, torn, translucent appendage contrasting sharply with the dark brown-black center. Fruits: Achenes with pappus, adapted for seed dispersal. Flowering: June-August.

Chorological type: Italian endemic. Distribution: A very rare endemic of the Abruzzo Apennines, restricted exclusively to the Majella and Morrone massifs. Habitat: It grows on calcareous cliffs and rocky habitats between 1700 and 2000 m above sea level.

Generic name (Centaurea): From the Greek kentaurie, in reference to the centaur Chiron, the mythological figure to whom the healing virtues of these plants were attributed. Specific name (tenoreana): Dedicated to Michele Tenore (1780-1861), one of the fathers of Italian botany, director of the Botanical Garden of Naples and author of the celebrated Flora Napoletana.

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Because of its extremely restricted range, with only a few sites on the Majella and Morrone, and the low density of its populations, it is included in the Italian Red List of Flora as a protected species. The main threats come from climate change, which may reduce suitable high-altitude habitat, and from trampling or other human disturbance along ridge areas.