Knapweeds

Here's a shot of shortfringe knapweed that shows the not-so-short fringe on the bract appendages.  The name must come from the variable and often short fringe below the spidery appendage.  Many knapweeds come from southeastern Europe.  There are a great many species there, some only occurring in very limited areas such as a single island or valley.  As far as I can tell, modern analysis of the genome of these plants has not yet helped us sort them out.