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Asteraceae
Cupid's Dart
Catananche caerulea
love's arrow.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Genus
- Catananche
- Native to
- Mediterranean (Spain, Portugal, North Africa)
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- perennial herb
- Height
- 1.5-2.5 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, dry, sandy
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 4-8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Ancient Greeks and Romans used catananche in love potions, believing it could make a person fall irresistibly in love — the name derives from Greek katanagke (strong incentive).
- The papery, silvery bracts that surround the flower dry beautifully and hold their shape indefinitely, making this one of the best everlasting flowers for dried arrangements.
- Despite being a perennial, it is often short-lived in cultivation, tending to last only 2–3 years before dying out and needing to be resown from seed.
- The thread-like petals of each floret have a distinctive 5-toothed tip, giving the composite flower a fringed, delicate appearance.
- It is drought-tolerant once established and thrives in poor, gravelly Mediterranean soils where more vigorous plants would crowd it out.
Color meanings
0
love
1
attraction
2
enchantment