Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus: open flower

This image is part of the sequence Flowers: Opening of a Cornflower and the seed head
This image is part of the feature Cornflower

Credit: CLAUDE NURIDSANY & MARIE PERENNOU/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Caption: Expanded petals and stamens in the wild cornflower Centaurea cyanus. This flower head is in fact made up of many lilac-coloured flowers. Petals around the edges are from large sterile flowers. Stamens in the centre are from fertile flowers. Centaurea cyanus is of eastern Mediterranean origin and has lived closely associated with human agriculture since neolithic times. It is now found worldwide among cereal crops, but is disappearing through the use of agricultural herbicides. Leonardo da Vinci once remarked upon the very pure colour of its petals.

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Keywords: angiosperm, angiosperms, asteraceae, botany, centaurea cyanus, compositae, cornflower, flower, flower development, nature, plant, type

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