Agrostemma githago
| Agrostemma githago | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 0.5' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Agrostemma githago (common name: corncockle)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 weeks. The seed has a short viability[1]. Eighteen month old seed germinated freely with us[K].
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils. Prefers a rich soil[2]. Prefers a well-drained not too fertile soil and a sunny position[3].
Plants are hardy to between -15 to -20°c[3].
Corncockle usually self-sows freely so long as there is some disturbed ground[K].
Range: Europe. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat: A weed of cornfields, becoming very rare in the wild due to modern agricultural practises[4][5].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[6][7][8][9]. A famine food, used when all else fails[10]. Some caution is advised - see the notes above on toxicity.
Medicinal: The seed is diuretic, expectorant and vermifuge[11][4][12]. Minute amounts are used medicinally[12]. It has a folk history of use in the treatment of cancer, warts etc[12]. The plant is not used in allopathic medicine, but it has been found efficacious in the treatment of dropsy and jaundice if used for long enough[11]. Some caution is advised, see notes above on toxicity.
A homeopathic remedy has been made from the seeds[11]. It has been found useful in the treatment of paralysis and gastritis[11].
Pollinators: Bees, lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The seed and leaves are poisonous, containing saponin-like substances[11][13][14]. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Saponins are quite bitter and can be found in many common foods su
Also Known As: Githago segetum. Lychnis githago.
Links
References
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ Cooper, Marion. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. The Stationery Office, 1984.