The corncockle is a beautiful ornamental plant with delicate, graceful flowers in a warm violet colour with a white centre. This annual flowering plant was originally a field wildflower from the Mediterranean region, but it is now on the red list of endangered plants due to the extremely effective use of herbicides in the 1960s. In this specific case, the use of herbicides was not entirely unjustified, as the corncockle is very toxic in all parts, and the contamination of freshly harvested grain with corncockle seeds could be very dangerous for humans if these seeds ended up in flour. Today, this danger is minimal due to modern methods of seed processing and cleaning. Although it is no longer found in grain fields, it is increasingly seen in naturalistic gardens or traditional cottage gardens as a pretty eyecatcher and a good nectar plant for bees, bumblebees, and other insects. In favourable locations, the corncockle readily self-seeds.
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