PLANT LIBRARY
Cornflower
Cornflower – Centaurea cyanus
Plant family
Asteraceae
Part used
Flowers
Native from Middle East, cornflower spreads rapidly in North America and Europe, through cultivated fields of grain fields, that the flower is fond of. A long time ago, its bright blue color symbolized healthy eyes. It was used as a curacy to soothe tired or irritated eyes, that made it called the “spectacle-breaker”. Nowadays, its flower symbolizes sensitivity and shyness.
Cornflower is an annual herbaceous plant, growing to 40-90cm tall, growing in temperate climate. Its stems, grey-green, are erected and branched. They are carrying narrowed and hairy leaves. Lonely flowers are growing at the extremity of those long stems, from July to August, and are reunited in flower heads. The central flowers of the heads are purplish and the surrounding flowers have large blue ligules, in form of range.
Nowadays, cornflower is often used in water or infusion preparations to help digestion and for its well-known diuretic function. In eye drops, it helps to cure conjunctivitis and to sooth eyes and eyelids. In cosmetic, it is use as soothing, decongesting and astringent.