Agrostemma githago

The Agrostemma githago, called Corn Cockle, is an adorable adventive annual weed, once widespread in cereal fields, but now endangered. This plant possesses the charm of wildflowers. It offers large funnel-shaped flowers in summer, which can be white, pink, or veined with crimson, carried at the top of tall sinuate and villous stems. Very decorative in the back of countryside borders, it appreciates full sun, fertile and well-drained soil.

The corn cockle belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family. It is an annual herbaceous plant native to Europe, temperate Asia, and North Africa, which has spread to almost all continents through its seeds once mixed with wheat crops. Long considered as an invasive and dangerous weed in cereal crops, it has now become rare, and it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful wildflowers in our regions. It quickly forms upright, sparsely branched stems, with a narrow and sinuous habit, ranging from 50 cm (19.7 in) to 1 m (3 ft 4 in) in height when flowering. Much of the plant is covered in gray and silky hairs, denser on the leaves and even more so near the flower. The leaves are linear or narrowly lanceolate in shape. Each leaf shows a well-marked midrib. Flowering occurs between June and August, followed by fruiting from July to September, depending on climatic conditions. Emerging from a hairy, swollen calyx at the base, the pedunculate flowers are arranged in cymes and are mostly purple but sometimes white or white-pink. They measure from 3 cm to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. Regardless of the petal color, they are crossed by five dark veins, which form more or less visible and continuous longitudinal stripes. Pollination is carried out by pollinating insects. The fruit is a large ovoid, swollen, leathery capsule that contains 30 to 40 black, cacao-pod-like seeds, covered with rough protuberances, the size of a wheat grain but highly toxic.

Simple, pretty, and graceful, the Corn Cockle swaying in the slightest breeze brings the charm of the countryside to our gardens. Sow it in the back of slightly wild borders, it will be sublime and will go perfectly with ornamental grasses like Stipa tenuifolia or Mulhenbergia capillaris, catmints, Damask Nigella, Californian poppies, and purple knapweed. Also excellent in rockeries for beautiful summer decoration, its flowers can also be cut for bouquets. It is a very easy flower to grow, even in pots.

About the disappearance of this species:

Although studies have shown that wheat can increase in size by 20 to 50% when there is a symbiosis between it and corn cockle, the toxicity of its seeds, for human or animal consumption, due to the presence of saponin, has led to its elimination from our landscapes. Today, selective herbicides as well as mechanical grain sorting have gradually eliminated it from our crops. However, when used in low doses, saponins can be used in phytotherapy for their anti-hemorrhagic, expectorant, vermifuge, and diuretic properties.