Catananche L.
Catananche is a small genus of five species, all native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Several are cultivated as ornamentals, especially as cut or dried flowers (e.g. Matthews 2000), C. caerulea by far being the most popular. It has been recorded as an escape in Belgium.
Literature:
Beckers B. (2001) Phylogenetic relationships of Tolpis (Asteraceae: Lactuceae) based on ndhF sequence data. Pl. Syst. Evol. 226: 23-33.
Blackmore S. (1982) A functional interpretation of Lactuceae (Compositae) pollen. Pl. Syst. Evol. 141(2): 153-168.
Kilian N., Gemeinholzer B. & Lack H.W. (2009) Chapter 24: Cichorieae. In: Funk V.A., Susanna A., Stuessy T.F. & Bayer R.J. (eds.), Systematics, evolution and biogeography of the Compositae. International Association for Plant Taxonomy, Vienna: 343-383. [available online at: http://www.bgbm.org/sites/alienplantsbelgium.bedefault/files/documents/Cichorieae_Chapter24.pdf]
Matthews V.A. (2000) Catananche. In: Cullen J. & al. (eds.), The European Garden Flora, vol. 6. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 535-536.
Vermeulen A., Desprez B., Lancelin D. & Bannerot H. (1994) Relationships among Cichorium species and related genera as determined by analysis of mitochondrial RFLPs. Theor Appl Genet. 88(2): 159-166.