Centaurea lancifolia or Wagenitzia lancifolia

Centaurea lancifolia is a rare chasmophyte flower endemic to the mountains of Crete.
Though it had already been discovered by the botanist Sieber in the early 19th century I was the first to photograph the plant in bloom (see all the photos in the lower part of this page).

Since then I have found new locations that are easier to reach (in the same general area) and where I can also get a lot closer to the plants (as in the top 3 photos on this page)

The following photos (from 4 to 10) were taken in August 2008, August 2011 and July 2014 near the summit of Mavri at 1900m.

The first photos I took of the plant (marked "Past flowering" at the bottom of the page) were taken in August 2008 and it was a little late in the season.

In August 2011 I went a little earlier and managed to catch the plant at its best. Unfortunately the photos are not of the best quality as they were taken from the slope across the cliff (the distance is about 70m).
Going back in July 2014 with a longer lens produced these closer shots of the plant.

The bottom image shows the site where the plants were found (by Nick Turland in June 2008). Note that there is still snow in it (in August!). The hole is huge, about 70m deep and over 80m across.

You can click on the pictures to enlarge.