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The History and Culture of Cornflower

The Beautiful Blue Star Thistle is a Garden Must

Jun 30, 2008

The brilliant blue color of Centaura cyanus, cornflower, makes this hardy annual a good choice for any flower or herb gardener's yard.

Of the world comes clear and fills with color. / They persist in the sunlit room: the wall paper / Frieze of cabbage-roses and cornflowers pales / Under their thin-lipped smiles / Their withering kingship. / How they prop each other up! - Sylvia Plath

Latin Name

The proper name for the cornflower is Centaura cyanus, which is a Latin name referencing two separate Greek myths concerning this plant.

The name Centaura is a reference to Chiron the centaur, a renowned herbalist in Greek mythology. According to one legend, Hercules shot Chiron in the heel with an arrow that had been dipped in deadly Hydra poison. The wound should have been fatal. However, Chiron used cornflowers to heal the wound.

The name cyanus refers to the brilliant blue color of the cornflower. The name was given in honor of a beautiful youth, from Greek mythology, whose name was Cyanus. Cyanus was fond of the color blue and would drape himself with cornflowers and wear blue clothes. When the goddess Flora found him dead in a cornfield, she turned him into a cornflower.

Common Names

In Russia, the cornflower is Basil’s flower or basilek. According to Russian lore, a young man named Basil was lured into a cornfield by a nymph who then turned him into a cornflower.

Among the cornflowers many common names are knapweed, blue-bottle, star thistle, and bachelor’s button. It has also been called blunt-sickle or hurt-sickle because it would dull the edges of the reaper’s blades as they harvested the corn.

Description

Cornflowers are an annual (defined: a plant that only grows for one season). They range in height from 8-inches to 32-inches tall. They have grayish-green foliage with narrow slender leaves. The blossoms are a brilliant blue with a loose daisy-like blossom.

Cultivation and Propagation

Cornflowers are hardy annuals that are easy to start from seed. Plant the seeds in the early spring in a sunny location in well-drained soil. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. The seeds can also be successfully started by using the winter sow method of planting. While some herbalists say that the seedlings do not transplant well, they can be transplanted successfully just after they get their first true leaves.

Culinary Uses

The flower petals can be added to salads for color.

Medicinal Uses

Traditionally, the only medicinal use for cornflowers is in an eyewash.

Other Uses

Cornflowers can be dried to add as a color element in potpourris.
The leaves can be added to a cleansing facial steam.

Sources

Houdret, Jessica. Practical Herb Garden. Hermes House, 2002

Ward, Bobby J. A Contemplation Upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature. Timber Press, 2005.

This article reports the common medicinal uses of the herb known as cornflower. Any herbal remedies attempted by the reader are done so at his or her own risk.

The copyright of the article The History and Culture of Cornflower in Annual Plants is owned by Melissa Howard. Permission to republish The History and Culture of Cornflower in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.