Plant story
Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower)
• Native UK species
• Under threat from modern agricultural methods
• Full story in Kew Magazine Autumn 2000
Centaurea cyanus growing among barley in the parterres of the Millennium Seed Bank
In the 1930's Cornflower was widespread but in 1990 this species was found in only 3 of the 10km gridsquares surveyed, possibly the most dramatic decline of any of our native wildflowers.
The natural distribution of Cornflower is complicated by the fact that, as a popular garden plant, it often escapes into the wild, where it may persist for a few years on disturbed sites. But as an established component of the wild flora of cornfields, returning each year in response to ploughing, Cornflower was close to extinction.
Centaurea cyanus "seeds" (single-seeded cypselas)
However, in recent years a handful of new sites have been discovered and, fortunately, the bodies involved – Plantlife and the Wildlife Trusts – were forward-thinking enough to donate seed to the MSB. Genetic fingerprinting work was carried out by Kew to determine the relationships between the various wild populations and the cultivars available to the gardener.
Finally, Cornflower was the most popular choice for adoption under Kew’s Threatened Plants appeal.
Story by Steve Alton