Cornflower (purple variety)

Description:

The cornflower is a small annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. The Cornflower, also known as Bluebottle or Bachelors Button, is a lovely ornamental plant in gardens, flowering from June until August. Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus) are among the few blue flowers that are truly blue, most blue flowers being a darker blue-purple mix. For the natural color see spotting: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/121... The pigment responsible for the blue color is anthocianin. Commercial flower growers are trying to breed blue flowers from plants that do not naturally produce blue blooms. This has given raise to different color varieties from light pink to purple.

Habitat:

The non blue varieties are more commonly found in gardens. The wild blue varieties can be seen in grasslands here in Belgium. It was a species very sensitive to pesticides and its density was stringky reduced because of it but now protection of certain areas is allowing this plant to gain again territory in our land.