Knautia arvensis Field Scabious

An attractive, hairy, perennial scabious with stems up to about 1m tall and usually simple, basal leaves and pinnately-lobed leaves in the upper parts. Blue-lilac, pincushion-like heads of flowers are produced in early summer in grassy places such as roadside verges, railway embankments and rough-grassland meadows, particularly on neutral or calcareous soils. The larger heads of flowers (2.5-4cm) are bisexual while the smaller ones (1.5-3cm) have only female flowers. It is widespread in much of Britain apart from the north of Scotland but it has declined in many areas as a result of development and habitat loss. However, it is commonly sown in wildflower seed mixtures to the extent that it can be difficult to differentiate between native and introduced populations in some areas. It is largely a lowland, coastal species in West Glamorgan with undoubted native populations in calcareous grasslands along the south Gower coast. Until recent decades it was uncommon in Neath Port Talbot but it is becoming a familiar feature of the roadside verge community that also includes other species introduced in seed mixtures such as Fodder Burnet (Poterium sanguisorba ssp. balearicum), Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) and the tall form of Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum). Good examples can be seen in the verges along Harbour Way in Port Talbot.

Native (but also widely introduced in wildflower seed mixtures)