Not to be semantically confused with: Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) nor with similar Centauries such as Seaside Centaury (Centaurium littorale) [plants whose Latin names are similar, but which are in a totally different Family altogether, the Gentian Family (Gentianaceae)].

Not to be confused with : Cornflour [a flour produced from Corn made famous by Brown and Poulson].

Many similarities to : Perennial Cornflower, but that is a perennial whereas Cornflower is an annual. Cornflower is a lot smaller, with outer ray-florets that are shorter and which flare-out wider and are less deeply cut than is Perennial Cornflower.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature : The typically seven, trumpet-shaped, fairly-deeply cut, radially arranged, pale-sky-blue ray-florets. It takes its latin name cyanus from the colour of the flower (cyan).

No relation to : Corn Marigold, Corn Sow-thistle, Corn Chamomile, Corn Spurrey, Corn Mint, Corn-cockle nor Turkey-corn [plants with similar names].

Un-like the otherwise similar Greater Knapweed, Common Knapweed and Lesser Knapweed, there are no versions of Cornflowers that do not have rayed florets. Another difference is that the ray florets are pale-sky-blue rather than the purple of Knapweeds (when present).

Once plentiful in both meadows and amidst crops Cornflowers have all but died out in the wild, a consequence of the extensive use of herbicides to control weeds in farming. It used to be a troublesome weed on arable land, hence the use of herbicides to control it and other arable weeds. They had become nationally scare by the 1970's, and are now all but extinct in the UK (but thrive one the continent), apart from just several isolated places. One, the arable weed reserve where soil from a field that has never ever been treated with herbicides was transplanted there. Cornflowers, poppies, corn-cockles and other once extant wild flowers typical of arable fields meadows and now grow there. In the UK Cornflower is classed as Endangered. Cornflower is being re-introduced in a number of locations.

Cornflower seeds are these days sold in wildflower seed mixtures, to re-create wild meadows, but since the mixtures contain much the same admix of seeds, including Tansy-Leaved Phacelia which is an introduced alien, re-sown wild-flower meadows look pretty much identical. You can tell it has been artificially re-created, at least initially until it gets really started with in-coming strays. Re-created wildflower meadows are purposely kept in an un-riched state to discourage the un-restrained growth of un-welcome stray weeds (and grasses) which would otherwise choke the wanted wildflowers.

A blue water-colour pigment can be made by mixing alum with the juice from the flowers which contains the blue pigment protocyanin

Habitat used to be: arable fields on dry, friable soils, either calcareous or acidic.

Just like most other members of the Daisy & Dandelion Family, the Centaurea Genus, to which Cornflower belongs, contains several sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones. Cornflower itself has been found to contain a germacranolide based sesquiterpene lactone Cnicin and some polyacetylenes and flavonoids. They also contain certain amounts of photoactive thiophenes, which are potentially toxic.

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