Wednesday 24 February 2016

:: centaurea cyanus ::

Although not blue, this is a very pretty example of the common cornflower.  
As a herbal medicine it helps heal conjunctivitis, it is well-known in its blue form as the tiny dried petals in a certain brand of tea - Lady Grey, the petals are edible and pretty in salads.
Young men used to wear a blue cornflower in their buttonhole and depending how fast the flower faded determined the strength of their love with their significant other...
...another name for cornflower is Batchelor's Button aka bluebottle aka boutonniere flower aka hurtsicke aka cyani flower...
 The name cornflower held because the flowers would grow in the fields between the corn and other grains.
Queen Louise of Prussia and her brood were saved from Napolean's forces as she hid her children in a field of cornflowers and made wreaths from the flowers to keep them quiet.
The cornflower is the symbol for several Northern European political parties and in France as a remembrance flower in the same way we see poppies used here.
 'A benefical weed'.
Who would have thought a flower could have so much meaning for so many?

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