Bachelor's Button

The annual blooming plant Centaurea cyanus also referred to as cornflower or bachelor’s button is a member of the Asteraceae family and is indigenous to Europe. It got its name because it used to frequently grow as a weed in cornfields, where “corn” is used to refer to a variety of cereals, including wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Due to agricultural intensification, notably the excessive use of herbicides, it is now threatened in its natural habitat. Through introduction as a decorative plant in gardens and as a seed contaminant in crop seeds, Centaurea cyanus has now become naturalised in many other regions of the world, including North America and portions of Australia.