Centaurea cyanus
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
The cornflower ( Centaurea cyanus ), also called Zyane, is a plant of the genus Centaurea (Centaurea ) within the sunflower family ( Asteraceae).
- 8.1 Germany
- 8.2 Austria
- 8.3 Sweden
- 8.4 Estonia
Description
Appearance and leaf
Cornflower is an annual, herbaceous plant, which reaches stature heights between 20 and 100 centimeters. The upright, simple to branched at the top of stem is hairy loosely tomentose.
The alternate arranged leaves are hairy, more or less loosely gray tomentose. At the lowest cauline leaf blade is linear - lanceolate with pointed upper end or sometimes pinnatifid with a length of 3 to 10 cm. Your leaf margin is simple or has removed linealische lobes. The remaining stem leaves are linear and entire, usually; mostly they are upwards not significantly smaller than those directly under the inflorescences.
Inflorescence, flower and fruit
In an open, rounded to more or less flattened zymösen total inflorescence are about Blütenstandsschäften the basket- shaped partial inflorescences. The involucre is bell-shaped with a height of 12 to 16 mm. The initially tomentose hairy and then verkahlenden bracts are at the edge and on the upright appendages trockenhäutig, dark brown to black, which are fringed with about 1 mm long teeth. The outer bracts are snug and are colored green and ovate. The inner bracts are looser, are violet crowded and elongated. The flat -bottom basket has no chaff leaves. The discus-shaped flower heads containing 25 to 35 florets.
The tubular flowers are different blue, but can be white to purple. The standing at the edge of the cups tubular flowers are sterile, her crown is strikingly enlarged to a length of 20 to 25 mm, with five distinctly zygomorphic, rarely up to achtlappigen upper end. The standing inside the flower basket tubular flowers are fertile and her crown is 10 to 15 mm long.
The straw-colored or silver-gray, finely hairy achenes are 4-5 mm long. The Pappus consists of uneven, stiff bristles having a length of 1 to 4 mm, usually less than the achene.
Chromosome number
The basic chromosome number is x = 12 It is of diploidy 2n = 24 reported.
Ecology
Either they overwinter as seeds germinate in the spring and eventually die after fruiting in the autumn of the same year from ( sommerannuell ) or already germinate in the fall, overwinter as a seed plantlets bloom in the spring and die after fruiting from (annual wintering ).
Flowers Ecologically it is the "basket flower type". Your blue coloration get the corollas of anthocyanidin and the very sensitive cyanidin. The latter dye is actually red, but appears here due to an iron - magnesium - calcium complex in blue. They reflect the strong ultraviolet radiation and thereby fall from afar on. The marginal florets are enlarged as show flowers, they are bright deep blue and sterile. The stamens are easily irritated: With a touch they are due to sudden cell pressure ( turgor ) relaxes, thereby bend knee- shaped outward and pull the dust bag collar down. The fixed pen then pushes the empty inward pollen from the anther tube after the " lamplighter " principle out. After one minute, the stamens are again irritable. The pollinators are example Hymenoptera, hoverflies and butterflies. Maximum number of visits of bees takes place in the morning at 11 clock. The flowering period extends from June to October ( wintering specimens bloom as early as May).
The achenes have a basal body oil; this serves the intended spread by ants ( Myrmechorie ). The hairs of the pappus are hygroscopic and therefore Straddling during drought. This allows them to be subject to the wind spread; but it can also come to the self- propagation of the achenes: As " Bodenkriecher " or by penetrating as " Bohrfrucht " into the ground. In addition, a random spreading is done by people with seed. Fruit ripening is between July and November. The long-lived seeds contain up to 28% fatty oil.
Occurrence
The wide archäophytische distribution area of Centaurea cyanus is from Finland and Belgium to Germany and Hungary to the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, Macedonia, Greece and the Baltic Republics on Belarus, Ciscaucasien, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan and Turkey to the northern Iraq and of Spain (including the Balearic Islands) via Portugal and France to Italy (including Sardinia, Sicily).
The cornflower is not part of the original native plants in Central Europe. Since the Neolithic period it is detected as synanthropic, originally it comes from the eastern Mediterranean. She is believed to have been introduced unconsciously with seed from the Mediterranean ( so-called Speirochorie ) making it one of the hemerochoren plants. Ever since man operates agriculture, the cornflower is a constant companion crop fields.
In many areas of the world Centaurea cyanus is a neophyte.
The cornflower is found mainly on the edge of cornfields ( hence its German name is hardly surprising ), at dumps and rather dry locations.
The cornflower grows in dry places usually with chamomile and poppies on the edge of fields. For a long time it had become rare through over-fertilization of the fields. It is a bio-indicator, which indicates how strong the fields were fertilized in recent years. Today it is again more common.
Taxonomy
The first publication of Centaurea cyanus was in 1753 by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2, p are 911 synonyms for Centaurea cyanus L. Centaurea cyanocephala Velen, Centaurea pulchra DC, Centaurea segetalis Salisb, Centaurea umbrosa Huet & Reut. .. ., cyanus segetum Hill, Jacea segetum Lam., Leucacantha cyanus (L.) Nieuwl. & Lunell.
After " Euro Med " cyanus segetum Hill is the accepted name for this type, with the synonyms. Centaurea cyanus L. Centaurea cyanocephala Velen, Centaurea hortorum Pau, Centaurea cyanus subsp. coa Rech f. John Hill published cyanus segetum 1762 The Vegetable System. Or, the internal structure and the life of plants; Their parts, and nourishment, Explained; Their classes, orders, genera, and species, ascertained, and Described; in a method altogether new: comprehending on artificial index and a natural system, 4, p 29, Plate 26, Figure 3
Naming and mythology
Through their striking light blue ( cyanen ) flowers she has received the trivial name Zyane and the specific epithet. The German trivial name Cornflower is detected since the 15th century and refers to the fact that it is a cereal weeds.
Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician, used the name for blue-flowered species, probably the Gentian Family. It is derived from Kentaureios = " to the Centaurs belonging " from. Linnaeus has assigned the name Centaurea on the species. It is derived from the centaur Chiron may be from, is said to have healed a wound at the foot of the hero Achilles. Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest, the cornflower wore in her hair.
Use
In the apiary is the cornflower due to the high sugar content of their nectar ( 34%) and its high sugar value ( up to 0.20 mg sugar / day per flower) an estimated addition to costume.
In teas dried cornflower petals are used as jewelry drug.
Although the cornflower no direct healing power can be shown to use them often against inflammation, redness and conjunctival irritation. Rarely it is also a component of cosmetics.
Some species are used as ornamental plant.
Cornflower petals in the form of dried jewelry drug
Cornflowers in art ( paintings by Ştefan Luchian )
Icon
Germany
In 1800, learned the cornflower in Germany a fundamental change in meaning. From a dreaded weed they turned into the symbol of a new naturalness and the myths around 1810 died young Queen Louise of " Prussian flower". The decisive impetus for the cornflowers cult of the 19th century had Louise's son - given in memory of his childhood, the " Prussian blue " Cornflower had explained to his favorite flower - the later emperor Wilhelm I.. Prussian blue was referring to the color of the uniform skirts. As a political symbol cornflower found in Germany (as opposed to Austria ) rarely used. Around 1910 came on cornflower days where young girls (paper) cornflowers sold for needy veterans. It is known that a traveling group was founded in 1909 " propelled journeyman " a cornflower - led badge. This group originated from supporters of Schonerer movement in Germany. Also the re-founded in 1948, the federal government Travellers journeymen leads since a cornflower in his badge; there it is referred to as a symbol of closeness to nature. After the First World War, Cornflower was the symbol of the "Bund Königin Luise ", the women's organization of the Stahlhelm organization, which, however, described the plant as a favorite flower of the Prussian Queen Luise.
The cornflower is also considered a symbol of Hungarian Germans or Danube Swabians. The cornflower was therefore also the sign of the 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division " Maria Theresia ", which consisted mainly of Germans in Hungary.
Since 1935 is a stylized cornflower part of the logo of the Association for Germans abroad (VDA ); she was for it, if maintained in a modernized form until today.
Symbol of the 22nd SS Cavalry Division
Logo of the VDA
Austria
The cornflower was from about the year 1879 the party flower of the so-called Schonerer movement in Austria, an anti-Semitic and pan-German movement. Wearing the cornflower was therefore provided by the Austrian authorities temporarily under punishment and was considered a " treasonous ". In Schönerer Party Pan-German Association you saw the cornflower as a symbol of German loyalty. From 1933 to 1938, Cornflower was the distinctive mark of the then illegal Nazis.
At the inaugural meeting of the Austrian National Council since 2006 bear the deputies of the FPÖ in addition to the usual white-red loop, the cornflower.
Sweden
In Sweden, the cornflower is the landscape flower of Östergötland, the sign of the suffrage movement of the late 19th century and today the party symbol of the Liberal People's Party.
Estonia
The cornflower is since 1968 the Estonian national flower.