Cornflower

Origin: Temperate Europe

Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Carduoideae
Tribe: Cardueae
Subtribe: Centaureinae
Scientific Name: Centaurea cyanus

Folk Names: Bachelor’s button, bluebottle, bluebow, bluecap, blue blow, blue bonnet, blue centaury, cornbottle, cyanus, boutonniere flower, devil’s flower, flor Celeste, hurt-sickle (because it turns the edge of the sickles that reap the corn), gogglebuster, red campion, syanus

Magical

Element: Water
Day: Friday
Planet: Venus
Zodiac: Capricorn
Deities: Robin Goodfellow

Parts used: Flowers

Magical Properties: Love, clairvoyance, prosperity, peace

Lore

• Nicholas Culpeper states that cornflower is cold, dry, binding, and thus under the dominion of Saturn. Combined with plantain, horsetail, or comfrey, it resists all venoms and poisons, particularly a remedy against scorpion stings.

Magical Uses

• Wear a cornflower pinned to your breast to attract the love of a man.
• Place a cornflower in your pocket, and how well it retains its freshness indicates how successful your pursuit of love will be.

Botanical

Type: Annual herb
Plant Height: 40-90cm
Stems: Grey-green and branched
Leaves: Lance-like, 1-4cm long
Flowers: Intense blue, 1-5-3cm in diameter
Fruit: 3.5mm long with 2-3mm long pappus bristles

Etymology: Cornflowers are so-named for their presence as a weed in cornfields (‘corn’ in the traditional sense of the term, referring to grain crops such as wheat, barley, rye, and oats).