Official name: Blue cornflower

Latin name: Centaurea cyanus L.

Description: Blue cornflower is an annual / biennial herbaceous plant of the family. Compositae, Asteraceae. It is distributed throughout Bulgaria from the lowlands to places with altitude up to 1800 m. The stem is branched, gray-green in color, up to 90 cm high. with lance leaves. The flowers are bright blue to violet, tubular, five-parted, up to 3 cm in diameter, collected in baskets, strongly honey. The fruits are gray fruit8 3-4 mm long with a kite of brownish hairs.  The herb blooms in June and July. 

Part of the herb used: shoots and flower baskets (Herba at Flores Cyani)

Collection time: The Polish squill is collected from June to August during flowering in sunny and dry weather by cutting off the flower baskets (without the stalk). For the shoots, cut off the entire leafed above-ground part of the plant. Flower baskets are harvested after their full blooming.  Drying of the collected material must be done quickly, in the shade, in ventilated rooms or in a dryer at a temperature of up to 40°. 

Content and properties: The medicinal plant contains bitter glucosides (centaurine and cyanine), the alkaloids pelargonine and erythrecin wax, mucus substances, potassium and manganese salts, etc.

Healing effect and application: Blue cornflower has tonic, biliary, diuretic and appetite-stimulating effect. In medicine, it is used in diseases of the urinary tract (nephritis, nephrolithiasis, urethritis, cystitis), for toning after prolonged illness and exhaustion of the body, in the absence of appetite, to increase biliary secretion in liver diseases, in whooping cough and angina. The herb contains highly active compounds with a cyanide ingredient, so it is used only on prescription and under medical supervision.

Opportunities for offering on request of the client:

"Vesselino" Ltd. offers its customers the herb in the following varieties:

• stalks and flower baskets (Herba at Flores Cyani) - dried whole, crushed, cut to size at customer's request, ground into powder/flour