| Family | ASTERACEAE |
| Genus species | Rhaponticum nitidum Fisch. ex DC. trib. Cardueae |
| Bibliography | Prodr. 6: 664 (1838) |
| Native Range | Central Asia |
| Primary Biome | Temperate |
| Habitat | sandy grassland |
| Description | leaves glabrous, thick, oblong, pinnatifid, segments oblong-ovate, dentate, shortly petiolate, capitula solitary, involucre 2-3cm, bracts rounded-ovate, acuminate, hirsute |
| Size | 10-30cm |
| Color | purple |
| Bloom | spring |
| Ca | |
| Type | perennial |
| Cultivation | sunny site with a poor, sandy soil alpine house, sandy soil, sun |
| Propagation | seed in spring, dark, moist, germ. 1 month, 16-21°C division in early spring and fall; cuttings in late summer |
| Synonyms | Centaurea nitida (Fisch. ex DC.) B.Fedtsch. Leuzea nitida (Fisch. ex DC.) Holub Rhaponticum caspium Kar. ex Ledeb. Serratula fischeri Sch.Bip. Stemmacantha nitida (Fisch. ex DC.) Dittrich |
| Territory | 3 Asia-Temperate 32 Middle Asia (KAZ Kazakhstan, UZB Uzbekistan) |