The common name 'scabious' comes the Latin word scabiosus meaning 'mangy, rough or itchy' which refers to the herb's traditional usage as a folk medicine to treat scabies, an illness that causes a severe itching sensation.

After the flowers have dropped, the calyces together with the bracts form a spiky ball that may be the reason for the "pincushion" common name.

Scabiosa species and varieties differ in the colours of their flowers, but most are soft lavender blue, lilac or creamy white.

In 1782, a mysterious pale yellow scabious, called "Scabiosa trenta", was described by Belsazar Hacquet, an Austrian physician, botanist, and mountaineer, in his work Plantae alpinae Carniolicae.

The Austrian botanist Anton Kerner von Marilaun later proved Belsazar Hacquet had not found a new species, but a specimen of the already known submediterranean Cephalaria leucantha.