The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Cornflower

Scientific Names

Cornflower

  • Centaurea cyanus L.
  • Compositae
  • Composite family

Common Names

  • Bachelor’s button
  • Bluebonnet
  • Bluebottle
  • Blue centaury
  • Cyani

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Parts Usually Used

Flower

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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Cornflower

Cornflower is an annual herb; the thin, stiff, branched stem grows to a height of 12-24 inches and bears narrow, lanceolate leaves, pinnate and lobed near the base and nearly filiform near the top. The large, blue flowers (white or rose-colored in some varieties) appear from June to August.
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Where Found

Native to Europe but cultivated in the United States; found in fields, cornfields, roadsides.
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Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, tonic, anti-inflammatory, stimulant
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Uses

The cornflower is used for dyspepsia and cosmetic purposes. Flowers are made into an eyewash or eyedrops and made into compresses to use on the eyes. Used for nervous conditions, both calming and curative.
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Formulas or Dosages

Used in bath and cosmetic preparations
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Bibliography

Buy It! The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition

Buy It!The Magic of Herbs, by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print)

Buy It! How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts, by Frances Densmore, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974

Buy It! The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993

Buy It! Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023

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