Giclee reprint of an original lithograph from from Volume V of Jan Kops’ Flora Batava, published in 1828 in Amsterdam.

Launched in 1800 by agricultural commissioner Jan Kops and publisher Jan Christiaan Sepp, this monumental work was the very first comprehensive, illustrated inventory of wild plants, mosses, mushrooms, and algae native to the Netherlands. It holds the record as one of the longest-running serial publications in Dutch history, spanning 134 years across 28 volumes and 461 individual installments. It concluded its epic run in 1934.

Kops famously insisted that every illustration be rendered from live specimens collected entirely from Dutch soil. This meticulous approach required a rotating army of local botanical artists, engravers, and hand-colorists over more than a century.

Centaurea calcitrapa is a species of flowering plant known by several common names, including common star thistle, red star-thistle and purple star thistle. It is native to Europe but is known across the globe as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. The species name calcitrapa comes from the word caltrop, a type of weapon covered in sharp spikes.