Blue cornflower – An annual herbaceous plant from the Asteraceae family (Compositae). Other names: blue valoshka
Description:
A herbaceous plant with a thin root and an upright ragged-cobweb stem 30-80 cm tall. The lower leaves are petiolate, pinnately lobed or entire, the rest are sessile, linear, entire, all cornflower leaves are pubescent with thin felt. Baskets solitary, at the top of the stem and branches; outer leaflets of the involucre are ovate with a whitish fringed-toothed margin; internal – whole or serrated appendage. Marginal flowers in baskets are asexual, kosovoronkovye, bright blue, internal bisexual, tubular, blue-violet. Hemicarps with a short brownish tuft. Blooms in June-September. It is very common as a weed.
Workpiece:
In medicine, cornflower flowers are used – Flores Cyani. Harvest only the blue funnel-shaped flowers immediately after the blooming of the flower baskets, being careful not to capture the inner tubular flowers; When harvested late, the flowers lose their color after drying. Dry in darkened rooms, as the color fades in the light. Flowers are scattered on paper in a thin layer and periodically mixed by shaking the paper. The raw material consists of blue marginal cornflower flowers; no smell, taste bitter, astringent
Contains active substances:
Blue cornflower flowers contain centaurein – a flavone glycoside, cyanine – a blue anthocyanin glycoside. Used as a diuretic in the form of an infusion.
Medicinal use:
In folk medicine, a decoction of blue cornflower baskets is also used as a diuretic, for cystitis, cough and whooping cough, nervous diseases, gastric diseases, they give children from diarrhea, for uterine bleeding, leucorrhoea, when frightened, babies are given a decoction and bathed in it, make lotions for the sick eyes, with toothache; with erysipelas, they are fumigated with smoke from burned inflorescences.