#45. Bachelor's Buttons

Centaurea cyanus

Family:

Sunflower Family

Characteristics:

1. This plant has a compound flower, typical of sunflowers, with bluish or purple ray flowers that are V-shaped with the outer ends cut into 3 short lobes or parts. The central disk flowers are small and darker in color.

2. The numerous leaves are long and thin, often covered with fine, white hairs, especially on the underside.

3. The stems are upright, sometimes branched, and range from several inches to just over 3 feet tall.

Habitat:

Fields, roadsides, waste places, or any disturbed areas.

Importance:

1. Commonly planted, decorative garden flower.

2. A weedy species, introduced from the Mediterranean area, which escapes easily into the wild and crowds out native wildflowers.

3. Herbalists use it to treat nerve impairments. The American Indians used it to treat snake bites, eye sores, and open wounds. Bachelor's Buttons is not edible.