Klasea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae (the daisy or composite family), placed in the tribe Cardueae — the thistle tribe — and the subtribe Centaureinae. The genus is native to Eurasia and North Africa, with its greatest diversity in the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East.
Plants in Klasea are perennial or rarely annual herbs with alternate, often deeply lobed or pinnatifid leaves. The flower heads are thistle-like, bearing tubular, typically purple or yellow florets gathered in a rounded capitulum with a distinctive involucre of spiny or fringed bracts — a hallmark of the Cardueae. The genus is closely allied to Serratula and was long treated as part of it; modern molecular and morphological work has supported recognition of Klasea as a separate genus, though the boundary between the two remains contested and some taxonomic databases (including the GBIF backbone) still place certain species under Serratula.
Estimates of species count differ: the Global Compositae Database recognizes approximately 30 species, while Plants of the World Online accepts around 55. Representative members include Klasea flavescens (yellow-flowered, Mediterranean), Klasea radiata (Balkan–Caucasus region), Klasea lycopifolia (eastern Europe to Central Asia), and Klasea centauroides (widespread from eastern Europe to Siberia).
Taxonomy Notes
Klasea was historically included within Serratula (family Asteraceae, tribe Cardueae). Subsequent taxonomic revisions separated Klasea on the basis of morphological and molecular characters, though the boundary with Serratula remains debated: the GBIF taxonomic backbone still places some Klasea species under Serratula. The genus belongs to subtribe Centaureinae. Species counts vary between authorities — approximately 30 (Global Compositae Database) to 55 (Plants of the World Online).
Distribution
Klasea is distributed across Eurasia and North Africa, with diversity centred in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, extending eastward through Turkey and the Caucasus to Central Asia and Siberia. Individual species ranges span from the Iberian Peninsula and Balkans through Iran to Central Asia.
