This attractive relative of the teasel is in full flower on the Herbaceous Beds.
A native of the Balkans and Romania, Knautia macedonica has rosettes of pinnatifid leaves, and stems to 80cm in height. The flowerheads comprise bristly involucral bracts of wine-red flowerheads, which have the appearance of a pincushion, similar to that of our native field scabious, K. arvensis. A member of the Dipsacaceae (teasel) family the genus Knautia contains 40 species from Europe, the Caucasus, Siberia and northern Africa. All thrive in well-drained, alkaline soils in full sun.