Cornflower

Centaurea cyanus

Plant Data

Order:

Asterales

Family:

Asteraceae (Daisy)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

Deep blue with large ray-like outer florets extending to 2cm long.

Fruit:

Dark yellow-brown, elliptical achene, tipped with short orange to brown bristles. Approximately reaching 4mm in length and 2mm wide.

Leaves:

Alternate and pinnately lobed. Greyish-green, mostly entire. Upper leaves are long and linear. Lower leaves are slightly toothed margins. The undersides are white and woolly.

Maximum Size:

80cm tall.

Foraging Notes:

The flowers are edible but fairly bitter and hard to digest. They taste similar to cloves. The flowers are sometimes used in salads. Cornflower can be used to make herbal teas.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Other Names:

Bachelor's Button, Basket Flower, Bluebottle, Boutonniere Flower, Garden Cornflower, Hurtsickle.

Habitats:

Farmland, gardens, meadows, roadsides, wasteland.