Psephellus pulcherrimus

Perennial of the Asteraceae family, Centaurea pulcherrima is native to the Caucasus and adjacent mountainous regions, notably Georgia, Armenia, and northeastern Turkey. It grows on rocky slopes, scree, and high-altitude grasslands, in well-exposed and fast-draining environments.

It forms upright and elegant clumps, reaching 40 to 60 cm in height. The foliage is one of its most immediate assets: the leaves are deeply cut, almost pinnatisect, of a gray-green to silvery hue, covered with a whitish tomentum that gives them a silky and luminous appearance. This contrast between the ashen foliage and the bright flowers is one of the visual signatures of the species.

The flower heads are large, solitary at the top of sparsely leaved stems. The flowers are bright pink to intense carmine pink, with ample and radiant peripheral ligules, creating a generous and well-opened capitulum. The involucre is rounded, with scales with light brown scarious appendages, discreet compared to other species of the genus.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August. In cultivation, it blooms in June-July and proves robust and perennial in well-drained conditions. It requires full sun and a light, stony soil, poor in organic matter; it does not tolerate excess winter moisture. Excellent plant for rock gardens or dry borders.