Field cornflower (scientific name - Blue cornflower, or sowing) is an annual or biennial plant from the Asteraceae family, genus Asteraceae. Habitat - roadsides, forest clearings, in vegetable gardens and cereal fields it is considered a weed. The plant's homeland is Southern Europe, from where it spread throughout the Eurasian continent. IN pagan rituals used as powerful amulet from witchcraft spells.
The genus Cornflowers includes more than half a thousand plants described by botanists.
What field cornflowers look like, description
The stem is rough and ribbed, depending on the growing area from 15 to a meter in height. The leaves are lanceolate, pubescent, sessile. The flowers have different shades: from white to blue and purple-lilac. Blooms all summer, from June to October.
Cornflower
The large flower of blue cornflower, the most famous of the genus Cornflowers, is a basket with flowers of two types:
- the outer ones are blue, funnel-shaped, asexual;
- the middle ones are dark blue with a violet tint, bisexual, fertile, tube-shaped.
The fruit is a reddish-colored achene; if you look at it from above, the tuft is clearly visible.
Application in medicine
Blue cornflower is a valuable medicinal raw material and is harvested for the pharmaceutical industry and cosmetology. Flower baskets are collected immediately after the opening of the bud; overstayed flowers with whitened flowers are not suitable for raw materials.
The use of cornflower in cosmetology
The collected baskets are subject to immediate processing: plucking out the asexual outer flowers and quick drying at temperatures up to 60 degrees, which allows you to completely preserve beneficial features and beautiful Blue colour.
Field and blue cornflowers have a powerful diuretic effect and are used in the production of various kidney infusions and teas with a diuretic effect based on natural raw materials. Research by scientists has also confirmed the effect of cornflower, aimed at reducing the process of stone formation in human kidneys. Moreover, this unpretentious plant has choleretic properties and an antimicrobial effect in the liver and bile ducts.
The antispasmodic effect of this plant is used in preparations aimed at relieving spasms in diseases internal organs, with indigestion.
IN folk medicine It is used in the form of lotions for eye diseases and as an antipyretic for colds.
Cornflower in folk medicine
In cosmetology, it is used in creams for skin with high oil content and shampoos with a therapeutic effect against dandruff.
Additional Information. Wild cornflower is an excellent honey plant, has high honey productivity, and in combination with other wild flowers growing in the meadow: daisies, bells, clover, fescue and others, it produces excellent honey from forbs. Honey collected by bees only from cornflowers has a spicy bitterness.
Growing in the garden
Gardeners have developed cultivated varieties of this unusual plant having different colors and more large flowers. Cornflower is sown with seeds directly into the ground at the end of April; it is cold-resistant and is not afraid of frost. It loves moist soils and loosening, this is what all its care consists of.
Unlike any other flower, cornflower looks great on alpine slide, flower beds and flowerpots. In a bouquet of wildflowers, among daisies, bluebells and mouse peas, this flower occupies a leading position.
Centaurea cyanus
Taxon: Family Asteraceae ( Asteraceae) or Compositae ( Compositae)
Common names: voloshka, blueflower, blavat, ragwort, rye ragwort, blueberry, cyanosis, cyanosis
English: Cornflower
The generic name comes from the Greek centaureion, which is associated with the name of the centaur Chiron, Greek kyanos- blue.
Description:
Blue cornflower is an annual or biennial plant with a thin branched tap root. The stem is erect, branched, up to 80 cm in height. Lower leaves Trifoliate or pinnately lobed, less often entire, petiolate, dying off by the time of flowering. The remaining leaves are sessile, linear, entire. Flowers are in single large baskets with a diameter of about 3 cm on long leafless peduncles. The marginal flowers are asexual, with blue funnel-shaped, deeply five-cut corollas up to 2 cm long; median - bisexual, 5 stamens, anthers fused into a tube, pistil with two stigmas with purple tubular five-toothed corollas up to 1 cm long. Fruits - pubescent shiny gray or yellow-gray oblong-ovate achenes 2.5-4 mm long with a multi-row pappus on at the apex, the pappus, equal in length to the achene, consists of unequal reddish or purple hard bristly hairs, easily breaks off. Blooms from May to August. Fruits in August.
Spreading:
Cornflower is unpretentious and grows everywhere, but best of all in moist, lime-rich soils. It is a weed of rye fields and other plants (wheat, flax, alfalfa) in the European part of Russia. These flowers can be grown not only in the garden, but also in boxes on the balcony or outside window sills.
Collection and preparation:
For medical purposes, the marginal blue flowers of cornflowers without baskets are used. They are collected during flowering in June-July, as soon as the flower basket opens. The marginal and partly tubular flowers are plucked from the flower basket. Dry immediately after collection in the shade in a well-ventilated area or in a dryer, scattered thin layer at a temperature of 40-50 °C, turning over periodically. At sunlight the marginal flowers turn from blue to whitish and lose their valuable qualities. Such raw materials are rejected. Dried blue cornflower raw materials are odorless, have a bright blue color and a bitter, astringent taste. The humidity of the finished raw materials is allowed no more than 14%, flower baskets no more than 1%, those that have lost their blue color no more than 8%. Store in closed boxes or glass jars 2 years.
Chemical composition:
Basic active ingredients- anthocyanins: diglucosides of cyanidin and pelargonidin, as well as derivatives of phenol and flavones - apigenin, luteolin, quercetin and kaempferol. The marginal flowers of blue cornflower baskets contain the glycoside centaurine. Pelargonin chloride, anthocyanins, coumarins, saponins, sterols, resinous, pectic and tannin substances, carotene and ascorbic acid were also found in flowers. As well as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium salts and trace elements: manganese, copper, zinc, cobalt, chromium, nickel, vanadium, aluminum, selenium, lead, strontium, boron. Blue cornflower seeds contain up to 28% fatty oils.
Pharmacological properties:
Cornflower preparations have a diuretic, diaphoretic, antipyretic, choleretic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, mild laxative, antifever, and wound-healing effect. They relieve spasms of the smooth muscles of internal organs, stimulate appetite and improve digestion.
Application in medicine:
Used internally for colds, coughs, edema of renal and cardiac origin, inflammation Bladder and kidneys, to improve digestion, for constipation, stomach pain, palpitations. Blue cornflower is used as a lotion for eye diseases: night blindness, conjunctivitis, blepharitis, weak vision, and also as an antifever. Cornflower is useful for jaundice, colic, bile fever, gout, scurvy, and worms.
Medications:
Infusion of cornflower flowers: one tsp. dried cornflower flowers are poured into a glass of boiling water, infused without boiling for 30 minutes, cooled, and filtered. Apply 2 tbsp. l. 3 times a day 15-20 minutes before meals for cough, whooping cough, use as an antipyretic for acute respiratory infections, fevers, headaches, diseases of the kidneys, liver, bladder, biliary tract, pancreas, gastritis, colitis with, palpitations, for stimulate appetite and improve digestion.
Cornflower decoction: Brew 1 liter of boiling water 5 g of herb with roots, boil until half of the original volume remains in the bowl. Then strain the broth and take 1/2 cup 3 times a day before drinking (drink warm). The course of treatment is 5-6 weeks.
For eye diseases
Infusion of cornflower flowers: brew 200 ml of boiling water, 1-2 tsp. flowers (dried or fresh), leave for 1 hour, then strain and use as a lotion 6-8 times a day for inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes.
Treatment will be more successful if you drink 50 g of flower infusion 3 times a day, 15-20 minutes after meals.
The same infusion can be used to treat “night blindness,” a disease associated with impaired twilight vision. Use as a lotion for conjunctivitis.
For eye inflammation, the following collection of herbs taken in equal parts is also effective: cornflower (flowers), snapdragon (flowers), eyebright (herb), elderberry (flowers). From this mixture you need to prepare an infusion: pour 2 tbsp. l. collect 200 ml of boiling water and leave in a thermos for 6-8 hours. Use for eye drops and lotions. The course of treatment is several months.
For conjunctivitis, mix: cornflower (flowers) - 2 parts; rosehip (flowers) - 1 part; chamomile (flowers) - 1 part; large plantain (leaves) - 1 part; herbaceous elderberry (flowers) - 1 part. Pour 3 tbsp. l. Add 200 ml of boiling water to this mixture, leave until cool and strain through cheesecloth and cotton wool. Place 3 drops in both eyes once a day.
In case of lacrimation, pour 1 tbsp. l. cornflower flowers 400 ml boiling water, leave for 1 hour, then strain. Use this infusion for lotions.
You can make lotions for sore eyes from the infusion of cornflower flowers, brew 200 ml of boiling water and 1 tsp. flowers and leave in a thermos for 6-8 hours. Apply the same broth, strained through cotton wool, to your eyes (4-5 drops).
Diuretic
Infusion of cornflower flowers: 1 tsp. flowers 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes and filter. Take 50-100 ml 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals as a diuretic for edema of renal and cardiac origin, as well as for inflammation of the bladder and kidneys.
For edema due to heart failure, an infusion of a mixture of herbs is used as a diuretic: cornflower (flowers) - 10 g; beans (leaves) - 15 g birch (buds) - 15 g; corn (stigma) - 15 g; (leaves) - 15 g; hernia (grass) - 10 g; horsetail (grass) - 10 g. Pour 4 tbsp. l. add 1 liter of warm water to this mixture, leave for 12 hours, boil for 10 minutes and filter. Drink 100 ml warm 4 times a day 1 hour after meals.
For dropsy An infusion of cornflower flowers is recommended, which is prepared as follows: pour 1-2 tsp. flowers 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 1 hour and filter. Drink 50 ml 3 times a day 10-15 minutes before meals.
For diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract An infusion of herbs is used as a diuretic: cornflower (flowers) - 15 g; bearberry (leaves) -45 g; juniper (berries) - 15 g. Pour 1 tbsp. l. add 200 ml of boiling water to this mixture, leave for 20 minutes and filter. Take 1 tbsp. l. 3-4 times a day.
With urinary retention due to inflammatory processes in the genitourinary organs, it is recommended to use a hot decoction of the following mixture of herbs: cornflower petals (10 g); elderberry root (15 g); corn silk (10 g); bearberry leaves (15 g); horsetail herbs (5 g); hernia herbs (10 g); birch buds (15 g).
Pour 4 tbsp. l. (with top) of this mixture 1 l cold water, leave overnight, and boil for 5-7 minutes in the morning. The entire decoction is drunk per day in 5 doses.
For urolithiasis in folk medicine, cornflower is used in the following herbal collection: cornflower (flowers) - 15 g; walnut (leaves) - 10 g; stinging nettle (leaves) - 10 g; calendula (flowers) - 10 g; horsetail (herb) - 10 g; violet tricolor
(grass) -20g; string (grass) - 15 g; Veronica (herb) - 10 g. Pour 4 tbsp. l. (with top) mixture of 1 liter of raw water, leave for 8-10 hours, then boil for 5-7 minutes and filter. Drink 5 times a day.
Cornflower for cardiovascular diseases
For hypertension Traditional medicine recommends the following collection: cornflower (flowers) - 15 g; hawthorn (fruit) - 15 g; chokeberry (fruit) - 15 g; horsetail (herb) - 15 g; yarrow (herb) - 15 g; mistletoe (leaves) - 15 g; valerian (root) - 15 g. Pour 1 tbsp. l. add 200 ml of boiling water to this mixture, leave for 30 minutes and filter. Take 70 g 3 times a day after meals.
Cornflower for diseases of the liver and biliary tract
For liver stones traditional medicine uses cornflowers as part of the following collection: cornflower (flowers) - 20 g; dandelion officinalis (root) - 10 g; nettle (root) - 10 g; calendula (flowers) - 40 g; sweet clover (herb) - 30 g. Pour 1 tbsp. l. Add 1 liter of boiling water to this mixture, add 4-5 pieces of sugar, stir and leave for 1 hour. Take 200 ml 4-5 times a day before meals.
For diseases of the liver and biliary tract use a tincture of cornflower flowers. To prepare it, infuse 30 g of cornflower flowers into 300 ml of 40% alcohol or vodka in dark place within 10 days. Take 30 drops 3 times a day 15-20 minutes before meals.
Cornflower for wounds and fractures
Juice and essence from the stem of blue cornflower has a wound-healing effect. Cornflower leaf powder is also an effective wound healing agent.
For bone fractures, cornflower grass and flowers are finely ground and mixed with thorn juice. Take 1-2 tbsp in the morning on an empty stomach. l. within 8 days.
Cornflower for skin diseases
To cleanse the blood for skin diseases, abscesses and furunculosis, the following herbal collection is used: cornflower (flowers) - 15 g; calendula (flowers) - 10 g; walnut (leaves) - South; nettle (leaves) - 10 g; horsetail (herb) - 10 g; tricolor violet (herb) - 20 g; string (grass) - 15 g; Veronica (herb) - 10 g. Pour 4 tbsp. l. Add 1 liter of water to this mixture, leave overnight, boil for 5-7 minutes in the morning and filter. Drink the entire dose per day in 5 doses. The course of treatment is 6 weeks.
Cornflower is also used in the form of infusions and liquid extracts on 40% alcohol 1:10.
If you throw a flower into the fire and then look at the sky, the stars will begin to seem to move. Inhaling smoke from burned cornflower causes fear.
Contraindications:
Poisonous. The plant contains active compounds with a cyanogen component. Therefore, when using raw materials, care must be taken.
Use on the farm:
For economic purposes, flowers can be used to obtain a persistent blue and blue color for woolen fabrics. Cornflower flowers and seeds are used as food. Flowers are added to first and second courses, gravies, and sauces. Powder from the seeds serves as a seasoning for soups, borscht, and as a gravy for meat and fish.
A little history:
In myths Ancient Greece it was told about Hecate - the ancestor of all poisoners, about the wise centaur Chirons, who knew the healing powers of all herbs and conveyed this knowledge to Apollo. According to myth, Apollo asked Chiron to raise his son Asclepius, the patron saint of doctors and the art of medicine. On Mount Pelion, Chiron taught Asclepius to recognize medicinal plants, and soon the capable student surpassed his teacher. In memory of the first, albeit mythological, herbal healer, the centaur Chirons, two genera of plants belonging to different botanical families are called “centauraceae”. This is a cornflower - Centaurea and centaury - Centaurium, and the family of swallowtails is named in Latin in honor of Asclepius - Asclepiadaceae.
Pliny claimed that this plant expels evil spirits. From a magical point of view, the powers of this plant increase if you read the words of a spell over it before collecting it.
Photos and illustrations:
Good afternoon. Due to popular demand, I am continuing my series of publications about wildflowers. Today's will be dedicated to - Vasilka.
“Cornflower, cornflower, my favorite flower” is a plant from folklore culture, from the fairy tales of our childhood, from many legends and rituals, but at first glance it is so small, and there is nothing mysterious about it. It was not for nothing that our great-grandmothers appreciated and praised this little blue flower. And now you will understand why.
What names have people come up with for it: Blavatka, cornflower, cornflower blue, cornflower - grass, voloshka, voloshikha, glavat, shkoltnitsa, patchwork color, Petrov's batogs, rusty color, synovnik, sinotsvetka, cyanosis, blue color in rye, sinyavka, bruises, cyanosis, soynitsa, cherloh, haber, cockerel, vyshnok.
Cornflower supposedly got its name in honor of the mythical centaur Chiron, who had the gift of healing people with the help of medicinal plants. According to another version, this is an ancient Russian re-arrangement of the Greek basilicon"royal" (flower, plant), derived from basileus"tsar".
A symbol of purity, friendliness and courtesy, modesty. Required element traditional Ukrainian maiden wreath.
One of the ancient Roman legends says that this flower got its name in honor of a blue-eyed young man named Cianus, who was struck by its beauty, collected these blue flowers and wove garlands and wreaths from them (cyanus means blue).
Cornflower came to us from ancient times. During excavations of Tutankhamun's tomb, many items from precious stones and gold. But a small wreath of cornflowers found in the sarcophagus shocked archaeologists. The flowers dried out, but retained their color and shape.
There are legends about the origin of cornflowers in Christian literature. Such interesting legends were recorded in the Kharkov region. When they took down the body of Christ from the cross, they buried it in the garden, in a cave. And they ordered to bury the cross of the Lord in the mountain, level the place above it, and sow henbane seeds there. But God, seeing this malice, gave Vasily (who is unknown) the seeds of a fragrant potion and ordered him to sow it in the place where henbane was sown.
When Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, arrived in Jerusalem in 326 and wanted to find the Cross of the Lord, she could not find it for a long time and began to ask God to help her. Someone came to her and said: “Look for the fragrant potion of Vasily: where you find it, there you will find the cross.” They went to Mount Golgotha and found him in a place overgrown with cornflowers. Since then the cross has been decorated with cornflowers.
In Germany, peasants believed that bread would become moldy if you kept cornflowers in your rooms, because the stem and cup of the cornflower were covered with whitish, mold-like hairs. On the other hand, here a water decoction of these flowers is considered an excellent remedy for eye inflammation. However, an infusion of these flowers in snow water was considered in the past to be the main means of strengthening the eyes, even by the French Medical Academy, and was called “casse-lunettes” (glasses-breaker), since it was assumed that thanks to it, sick eyes are so strengthened that they do not have no more need for glasses.
Treating eyes with cornflower blue water is also practiced by our Russian healers. Further, they believe that the cornflower plant, plucked from the ground on the day of Corpus Christi, stops bleeding from the nose if held in the hand until it warms up. In the fall, based on the number of seeds found in the cornflower fruit, it is considered possible to conclude the price of bread next year. “How many seeds,” they say, “are in the cornflower fruit, so many thalers or pennies will bring a measure of rye.”
In some areas of Germany, cornflowers are also used to intimidate children so that they do not walk through grain fields and trample on rye. “If you pick cornflowers,” they are told, “then the rye goat will grab you and kill you with its horns.” Instead of a goat, the role of a scarecrow is sometimes played by a rye wolf. This belief dates back to the Middle Ages, and in Frankfurt am Main in 1343, as Mangardt reports, there was even a house on Vasilkovaya Street that was called the “rye wolf.” As a result of this, sometimes the cornflower itself in villages is called a goat (Ziegenbock) and is considered the personification of some kind of field goblin or demon. This goblin, according to their belief, sits in the cornflower and, when they are reaping bread, attacks lazy workers and workers, infecting them with disease. And therefore, when peasant girls go to reap for the first time, they are warned: “Beware that the rye goat hits you!” And if any of them gets sick from heat or fatigue, they say: “It was the rye goat that killed her.”
Almost the same belief exists in some provinces of France. Only there the wolf takes the place of the goat, and that is why they say about lazy workers that a wolf has entered them. Such a striking feature of cornflower, its intense blue color, is noted by all Slavs; the jagged shape of the petals is eastern and southern, and its growth in rye and the spherical shape of the inflorescence are only eastern. For them, the cornflower became a symbol of happiness and girlhood, although it was also used as a love spell on South Slavic territory (as evidenced by the names love spell, love spell).
Since 1968, the blue cornflower has been the national flower of Estonia. In some European countries it is known as the German flower (a flower with a German character). In Belgium it is a symbol of freedom, in France it is a symbol of anti-Semitism.
The Slavs also knew about the healing power of cornflower and since ancient times they have used this plant to heal a number of diseases. The Slavs have two holidays associated with cornflowers: “the ear went to the field” - celebrated when ears of corn appeared in the field and the “birthday sheaf” - held at the end of summer before the harvest.
In Ukraine, these flowers have long been loved and revered. In addition to the traditional, a wreath of devotion was woven from cornflowers with lovage leaves and given to the Cossack during separation, before long campaigns, so that he knew that they were waiting for him and loved, they believed that he would return from a foreign land to his native land safe and sound.
Ukrainian legend about Vasilka.
Once upon a time there lived in the same village a poor widow with her only son, Vasil. He was a handsome and hardworking guy, and many girls looked at him. But Vasil paid no attention to any of them. From morning to night he worked in his field, and when returning home, he went down to the river to wash, relax, and admire the sunset.
He didn’t even know that there was a mermaid living in that river, who looked at him every evening, parting the leaves of her water lilies. He looks and sighs quietly.
“Ah,” the mermaid whispers, “if you loved me, we would live with you in the depths of the river.” Look how beautiful I am, how cool and beautiful it is under the water!
When Vasil saw the mermaid, heard her words, he flatly refused to leave his land, his field, and did not even want to look at the mermaid’s beauty.
“Then,” the beauty got angry, “don’t let anyone get you!” Become a flower in your field!
A flower swayed among the rye. He was blue, like Vasil’s eyes, like deep water in the river! And people called that flower cornflower - in memory of the disappeared young man.
Nowadays, an azure-blue coloring substance, harmless to health, is obtained from blue cornflower, which is used in perfumery to color perfume preparations, in Food Industry dyes obtained from cornflower have been used for a very long time. The color of the flower is very persistent, it almost does not change in the sun, so in the old days cornflower flowers were used to dye woolen fabrics, and cornflowers were also used to make blue ink.
Best regards, Olesya
Blue cornflower (centanrea cyanus) or cornflower is a herbaceous annual meadow plant of the Asteraceae family. It is popularly known under such names as: blue flower, cyanotic flower, voloshka, shred flower, rye flower. Previously considered a weed, cornflower has spread almost throughout the world.
Cornflower blue description
The useful blue cornflower grows only among rye, so it can often be found in rye and wheat fields. The structure of the stem is thin and fragile, but very well developed root system. The plant usually reaches a height of 80-90 cm. The flowering period falls in May and continues throughout the summer.
Medicinal blue cornflower blooms from June to September and actively bears fruit in August. It has a composite fruit in the form of an ovoid-oblong achene with tufts. Blue flower sometimes takes purple shade.
The composition of the flowers includes glycosides - cyanogenic and pigment, therefore it is classified as a plant with slightly poisonous properties. Its bright blue color is given by anthocyanins, elements that have antioxidant effects. It also contains alkaloids, tannins, resins, organic acids, bitterness, vitamins A and C, oils, mineral salts, phenols, flavones, etc.
Medicinal properties and uses of blue cornflower
Blue cornflower is a wide-spectrum plant and is actively used in both scientific and traditional medicine. The medicinal raw materials are funnel-shaped flowers. When preparing dried raw materials, flowering baskets are cut, from which the flowers are plucked. The medicinal plant is stored in dried form for about 3-4 months.
Not long ago, the herb was used to make smoking tobacco and blue paint for painting. Today it is used more in medicine for the preparation of infusions, syrups and medicines.
Medicinal properties
Scientific medicine uses dried blue cornflower flower in diuretic and liver preparations. Due to its effective medicinal properties, it is used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, diaphoretic, analgesic, antioxidant and antispasmodic agent. An extract or infusion of flowers is used for the following diseases:
- nephritis;
- cystitis;
- nephrosonephritis;
- urethritis;
- polyarthritis;
- rheumatism;
- diseases of the biliary tract and liver.
Medicinal decoctions of flowers in folk medicine are used for inflammation and eye fatigue, moisturizing and soothing the mucous membrane. Lotions are used for eczema, furunculosis, and ulcers. It is recommended to prescribe a course of treatment with cornflower for cystitis, diarrhea, nervous or gastric diseases, etc.
Folk recipe The medicinal decoction is not difficult to prepare. To do this, you need to pour a tablespoon of dry plant with a glass of water, boil for 15 minutes in a water bath, leave for 30-40 minutes and strain. Treatment and prevention should last 21 days. You need to take short breaks between courses.
Contraindications
In addition to its medicinal and beneficial properties, there are several contraindications for use. medicinal plant:
- 1. The composition mainly contains cyanide components, therefore it is prohibited to use a natural preparation for diseases of the female reproductive system, uterine bleeding, or painful and prolonged menstruation;
- 2. Individual intolerance;
- 3. During pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Mountain cornflower beneficial properties and contraindications
Mountain cornflower is slightly smaller in size than the usual blue one. The flowers come in white, purple, blue, pink or dark purple. Like any representative flora, this plant has both beneficial properties and contraindications for use. The main beneficial and medicinal properties include:
Cornflower blue pharmacognosy
The use of blue cornflower in pharmacognosy is quite common. In addition to herbal remedies, for kidney disease and gastrointestinal tract, folk decoctions, lotions and tinctures, the herb is used to produce the drug Erythrocentaurinum.
Application in cosmetology
Decoction of this plant cosmetologists recommend for enlarged pores on the facial skin, dryness or irritation. It gives a long-lasting mattifying effect, but does not dry out the skin. Cream with flower extract relieves puffiness around the eyes, removes swelling and redness. Shampoo with it increases hair growth and nourishes the roots. Hair becomes thick and strong.
Decoction during pregnancy
The decoction is contraindicated for use during pregnancy because blue flower is slightly toxic, increases blood clotting and contains elements similar to cyanide, which during pregnancy can harm the fetus and cause premature birth.
Cornflowers planting and care
Correct fit and care will help the plant to better express its medicinal properties. The flower should be grown in well-lit open ground. The cornflower itself is light-loving, so it grows and blooms poorly in the shade. It is necessary to plant in pre-prepared soil in the spring, as soon as the ground freezes. When planting, the roots must be spread out to the sides and down. A distance of 20 to 50 cm should be maintained between young seedlings. Reproduction occurs by seeds.
The human psychological perception of apparent simplicity is amazing.
Admiring the luxury of varietal roses, dahlias or double tulips, he freezes in amazement when he sees a modest blue flower - cornflower.
He is beautiful both in the field, where he likes to settle, especially in the rye, and in the garden. A well-groomed varietal or a simple “free” flower is good for anyone.
A blue scattering of cornflowers is a picture of peace, tranquility and endless space. Cornflower pleases the eye and soul, although with your mind you understand that this beauty is a weed in the fields of spring and winter crops.
Beauty is not the only pleasant advantage of a plant. You can admire it and, if necessary, treat it.
Its “medical” name sounds official: “Cornflower officinalis.”
Blue beauty is also used in cooking.
Where does cornflower come from?
The origin of a representative of the Asteraceae family has different versions:
- The homeland of the plant, familiar to many from childhood, is supposedly southern Europe;
- The Greeks claim that this is a native Greek flower, and a royal one at that: “basilicon”;
- Ukrainians are convinced that, according to legend, a bright blue flower first appeared in their rye crops. An angry mermaid, rejected by a handsome guy, turned her lover into a plant. And it blooms, turning blue in the field, like the eyes of that guy;
- People who noticed the cornflower's predilection for rye crops decided that it arrived in ancient times along with cereal seeds - from Asia;
- Believers put together their parables. According to one, it was the cornflower that helped find the cross buried after the crucifixion of Christ. The Romans ordered slave Basil to sow henbane on top of the cross. And the Lord turned these seeds into others. Beautiful blue delicate flowers have sprouted. Several centuries later, these flowers showed Christians where the cross was located.
There are many legends. That’s why the names too.
This is both mermaid love and blue flower. It is also called bobilnik, rye patchwork.
Almost every flower name is supported by legends and interesting stories.
One thing is certain: the flower is truly ancient. They say that a cornflower blue wreath was even found in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Botanical description
Blue cornflower is an annual or biennial. The stem can be straight, but it can also be branched.
The plant is herbaceous. The leaves are lanceolate, linear in shape. Inflorescences are baskets. The flower in the middle is purple.
The marginal, bell-shaped, funnel-shaped flowers are blue.
This is how cornflowers are presented in nature.
Beauty and nature do not save a plant from the “agricultural tag”: weed.
He loves grains, threshes them together, and ends up in seed stocks.
In the gardens, even the common cornflower is a welcome guest.
Having appeared, it receives permanent registration in the flowerbeds of flower lovers.
There are other colors: white, red, purple, pink. There are yellow and burgundy ones.
This is the work of breeders, the original color is blue.
The gardeners' favorite grows up to a meter tall. Some varieties are half that size.
Biology
Cornflower is photophilous. In order for him to express himself in all his glory, he definitely needs plenty of light.
But it is not so demanding of heat; it even tolerates frost. Cold resistance allowed the flower to spread widely.
Its range is large: the plant only did not reach the northern cold (Far North) and did not adapt to the heat of the South.
Attitude to moisture different types plants are not the same.
The root system of the annual plant is less developed, the root is shallow taproot, and the bush itself is more compact.
The annual plant needs moderate but regular moisture.
Perennial flower - rhizomatous. Him underground part powerful, above ground too.
Greenery covers the ground, retaining moisture, rhizomes keep moisture in the soil.
Therefore, such a cornflower will withstand a short drought without damage.
Perennial cornflowers can easily be grown without changing location for several years, or even permanently.
Regarding nutrition, the blue flower is the original. He doesn't like fertility. He is even modest in his diet.
If you “feed” it royally, like other crops, it may not bloom. Or it won’t produce seeds.
But sandy soils or roadsides compacted by tires are its environment.
Although it works better on light, loose soils (sandy). Prefers neutrality - neutral acidity. Acidic soils absolutely not suitable.
The plant blooms generously and for a long time - from spring to autumn cold weather.
Cornflower seeds are small, numerous achenes. Fertility is decent - reaches 7 thousand seeds.
Healing properties
Pleasant to the eye, cornflower revealed its medicinal properties to people back in ancient times.
It’s not for nothing that the flower was called royal. It was believed to be extremely healing.
Official modern medicine has not ignored cornflower. The flower has been studied, the ancient people were not mistaken.
The composition of the marginal flowers of the plant is rich and healing:
- Anthocyanins – antioxidants – are a powerful anti-cancer defense for the body. They delay aging and prolong youth.
- Flavones are precursors of flavonoids, biologically valuable substances. Natural flavonoids (there are also very expensive synthetic ones) are a treasure trove of health effects. Cornflowers:
- Reduce blood pressure;
- Act as an antioxidant;
- Relieves spasms;
- Calm;
- Stimulate the secretion of estrogen;
- Give a diuretic effect;
- Anti-inflammatory;
- Heal ulcers. - Glycosides are heart helpers;
- Pigments;
- Vitamins;
- Minerals necessary for metabolism (iron, potassium, copper, calcium).
Traditional medicine uses cornflower in the treatment of inflammatory (blepharitis, conjunctivitis) eye diseases, edema (heart and kidney), and diseases of the urinary system.
Over the centuries, folk medicine has tested and introduced more methods of treatment with blue-headed flowers.
Carefully preserving and passing on unique family recipes by inheritance, our ancestors brought the benefits of cornflower blue to us.
In addition to the above, they are popularly treated with a blue flower:
- Cough;
- Colds;
- Stomach pain;
- Liver;
- Sore throat, laryngitis;
- Gallbladder;
- Sluggish bowel;
- Tachycardia;
- Allergies, especially childhood diathesis;
- Fever;
- Night blindness (when vision is impaired at dusk);
- To remove warts - make a powder from ground seeds, apply the powder to the warts on a gauze pad;
- Crushed fresh flowers are applied to the wounds, healing proceeds faster.
For nursing mothers, cornflower infusion helps increase milk supply.
Pregnant women relieve toxicosis with it.
Infusion. It is better to cook in a thermos; you can also use a water bath.
1 tablespoon of dry raw material is enough. Pour a glass of boiling water over the flowers and leave for an hour (if in a thermos).
The second method is a water bath for 15 minutes, then wait to cool.
The resulting strained medicine is suitable both externally and for internal use.
Drink a tablespoon (tablespoon) three times a day for:
- Cholelithiasis;
- Intestinal disorders;
- Diabetes;
- Diseases of the urinary tract, kidneys.
Externally - treat:
- Eyes. They are instilled to relieve fatigue and increase vigilance. They make lotions.
- Skin diseases.
Tincture. In a volume ratio of 1:10, pour the dry marginal flowers of cornflower with vodka.
After 2 weeks, you can treat the liver and eliminate gall bladder problems.
Dosage: 20 (up to 30, depending on tolerance) drops, randomly diluted with water.
The same remedy will calm nervousness.
Cosmetic use
The flower is good and useful in many industries. The cosmetics and perfume industry would be poorer without the cornflower flower addition.
Self-prepared ones will give a cosmetic effect:
- Lotion. Add a spoonful of vodka to a glass of infusion, and your homemade lotion is ready. In case of increased skin oiliness, the product will gently eliminate the problem.
- Infusion (same recipe, cook in a thermos) heals acne. You can wash your face with it or wipe your face. Cornflower will also help with dandruff.
- An infusion and a basket (the whole flower) will help hair growth and stimulate it. Pour 200 g of vinegar with the same volume of boiling water into a bowl with a tablespoon of raw materials - baskets. Half an hour of infusion, and you can rub the original product into the scalp. Or wash your hair by adding cornflower infusion to the water. There is no need to be afraid of vinegar: the recipe has been tested many times.
In cosmetology they use:
- Industrially produced lotions with cornflower. They are in demand: they cleanse the skin well, the pores narrow, and become invisible. Biologically active components have a rejuvenating effect, give a matte shade, removing oily shine.
- Creams containing cornflower extract ideally care for especially sensitive skin eyelids, remove puffy circles under the eyes.
- Hair also responds gratefully to washing with cornflower blue shampoos. They restore healthy shine to hair tired of hair sprays and other chemicals and stimulate active growth.
- Bathing products (shower gels) with medicinal plant They don’t just cleanse – they nourish the skin of the body.
- Body lotions with the extract of blue medicine flowers added to them are also good and popular among connoisseurs. Healing components and aroma add and pamper the skin.
Food use
Collecting raw materials is labor-intensive; only the marginal, funnel-shaped flowers of the basket are used.
This handmade. The baskets are torn off first, but the tubular middle flowers should not be present in the prepared raw materials.
Therefore, the work is painstaking: each inflorescence (basket) must be “plucked” - small healing bells must be pulled out and placed to dry.
But these fragrant flowers are grown, harvested and used even for food purposes.
The scale is industrial. These petals alone replace several seasonings at once.
Adding cornflower blue seasoning to sausages, canned food, and meat products gives the product a range of flavors.
Cornflower combines lemon-mint and clove aromas, gourmets appreciate it.
Varieties of cornflower
An ancient flower spread across different continents, it has many species. More than five hundred of them are known.
Two species are widespread throughout the country: meadow and blue.
Both are recognized by medicine as medicinal; in this parameter they are not inferior to each other.
Other types are also healing and beautiful.
The most common:
- Lugovoi loves forest clearings, meadows, and bushes. That's where he settles. Perennial. The flowers are purple, maybe white. The beauty of the plant lies in the outer flowers. It is interesting that they are sterile: nature did not give them either stamens or pistils. But with their brightness and aroma they “signal” to insects: here is a flower! And the bees fly to the tubular flowers of a wonderful honey plant. The baskets make yellow paint.
- Blue is a cereal lover. Settles directly in grain crops. His favorite surroundings are rye, wheat, and barley. If you see blue baskets of a familiar flower along the side of the road, it’s blue. This species also settles close to housing. Blue cornflower is annual, but can also be biennial. Blue – species name. Its color varies: blue, blue, purple with a pink tint. This type was previously used to produce paint. Blue, as opposed to meadow.
- White. A low (25 cm) plant with terry baskets of white flowers. Rare plant– protected by law, listed in the Red Book. Perennial.
- Oriental. Tall, more than a meter, wild-growing perennial. Basket yellow color. Outwardly it looks a little like cornflower.
- Two more yellow cornflowers – large-headed and yellow. Tall, spherical inflorescences, shaped like burdock flowers.
- Whitened – the name suggests: yes White color. Not at the flower, at the leaves located below. The top ones are ordinary, green. Decorative. Pink flowers.
- Pink. By name and color. Tall perennial.
- Spreading. Low growing, but highly branched. The flowers are white or pink.
Based on these species, breeders have created a kaleidoscope of cornflower varieties.
Popular:
- Adigel – terry white;
- Cherry crown – red terry;
- Lady Florence is a mountaineer. Perennial. Delicate openwork lace basket shape in white;
- Golden yellow. Perennial, tall, round, fluffy baskets, like chickens;
- Blue diadem – cut terry branched, light blue;
- Glow. Pink double perennial.
There are varieties - mixtures different colors: Favorite, Compliment. Each has its own special color and shape of petals.
It is preferable to grow “fluffy”, terry varieties, but the ordinary ones are also very elegant.
Original pollination of cornflower
The pollination mechanism common to all cornflowers is very interesting.
The stamens and pistils of tubular flowers, ready for pollination, cannot do without insects.
The stamens release ripe pollen into the flower tube. And at the bottom of this tube there are hairs.
It also contains a pestle. It cannot be pollinated by the pollen of its own flower - cross-pollination.
But when the insect takes the nectar out of the tube, the hairs and filaments of the stamens immediately contract, pushing out the pistil.
Along the way, the pistil captures pollen and “shoots” directly into the bee’s abdomen.
This does not cause her any concern, but his abdomen is already covered in pollen.
The pollinator, having collected nectar, will carry pollen to other flowers. And this pestle will wait for another insect.
Sowing (planting) cornflower
Annual varieties are cultivated only when sown with seeds.
Perennials allow for variations - you can use seeds, or you can divide the rhizome, and there will be material for planting.
Seed propagation
Sow seeds either in pots ( seedling cultivation), or into the ground.
As a result, the sowing dates are shifted: seedlings in closed ground are sown earlier. In spring: March, April – depends on the region.
Without shelter, cornflowers are sown later. It is cold-resistant, but it germinates better when it is warm, so it is recommended to sow at the border of April and May.
Annual cornflowers are propagated exclusively by seeds, seedlings or the soil method.
When growing through seedlings, do not pick growing plants. The tap root, if you disturb it during transplantation, you will get weak specimens.
The solution is simple: sow immediately peat pots. By planting ready-made seedlings together with a pot, protect the root from injury and improve survival rate.
The soil is prepared carefully for sowing: it is loosened, then it is advisable to compact the top layer.
They do this for two reasons: this way the moisture is retained better, and the seeds are at the same level and do not spill deeply.
The seeds are small, seeding is minimal, no deeper than 2 cm. The soil is not allowed to dry out before germination, otherwise the crust will not allow tender shoots to emerge.
Option: mulching. Peat and plant residues are suitable. Mulch will retain moisture until germination and reduce labor intensity: watering less frequently.
The cornflower grows thickly; subsequent thinning will be required. The distance in the row is approximately 15 cm.
Weeding, loosening, watering are maintenance operations of the initial period.
When the plants get stronger, they no longer require care, all that remains is not to dry out or over-moisten the soil.
Vegetative propagation
Perennial cornflowers are often planted in divisions of rhizomes.
When planting with root segments, you need to divide them so that there is one bud on the planting material.
The soil should be as sandy and loose as possible if you want the plant to please you and reveal its full varietal potential.
The distance for this type of reproduction is greater: up to half a meter. Perennial cornflowers grow stronger, the rhizomes will go horizontally in the soil.
The rhizomes are divided and planted either in the spring or after flowering - in the fall.
In the spring, the divisions are planted shallowly in warmed soil.
Make sure that the bud is not buried, remains flush with the surface, and the roots are straightened, not “looking” up or into the middle.
Varieties that grow exclusively horizontally with their rhizomes can be planted deeper. The kidney will tolerate a depth of 2 cm.
If the soil is damp, just knead it a little around the planted cornflower. If it’s a little dry, water it.
The soil will be evenly distributed around the roots.
The royal flower is taking root well, special conditions does not require.
Feeding is usually not necessary if the place for the cornflower is chosen correctly.
Plant care
Cornflower, with all the diversity and splendor of varieties, requires almost no care.
You can say this about him: “grows like grass.”
Care stages:
- Sowing (planting);
- Watering - as necessary, infrequent;
- Loosening row spacing before germination;
- Weeding and thinning of seedlings.
The rest of the plant will provide for itself.
Cornflowers are not at all capricious: care is simple, the result is pleasing.
Pests and diseases
Cornflower is a happy flower. It does not have specific pests that target it and is almost not susceptible to diseases.
Hares and roe deer love him. It is difficult to call them pests.
If the area is close to the forest, the hare may look in, but unlikely in the summer. It’s even less likely that it’s behind the cornflower.
With the correct watering regime, the plant does not get sick at all.
If it is “flooded”, fungal organisms can take advantage of this, and fusarium cannot be ruled out.
The correct choice of soil and proper regulation of moisture will eliminate the incidence of disease.
Cornflower has long attracted the attention of artists, needlewomen, and craftsmen. Embroidery, paintings, tableware painting, coats of arms of cities - wherever this flower is present.
Place it in a well-lit area of the garden. Whether field or varietal, any one will certainly delight with its grace and unpretentiousness.
The long-term one will become a familiar friend. Annuals will roam according to your wishes.
Both will lift your spirits and give you a boost of energy. And if necessary, they will provide health care.
Make friends with the blue miracle - you won’t regret it.
See you soon, dear readers!
