corn cockle

A weedy annual Mediterranean plant (Agrostemma githago) in the pink family, having reddish-purple flowers and narrow opposite leaves.

[Early Modern English : corn, grain (since the corn cockle was once a common weed in wheat fields) + cockle.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

corn cockle - European annual having large trumpet-shaped reddish-purple flowers and poisonous seed; a common weed in grainfields and beside roadways; naturalized in America

Agrostemma githago, corn campion, crown-of-the-field

Agrostemma, genus Agrostemma - a caryophylloid dicot genus including corn cockles

weed - any plant that crowds out cultivated plants

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References in periodicals archive

There are usually seeds of corn poppies, corn marigolds, cornflowers and corn cockle in annual "cornfield" mixes, vividly coloured flowers all excellent for pollinators.

REAP WHAT YOU SOW; Plant out hardy annuals now then sit back and enjoy vivid displays of chunky spring cornflowers, poppies and pot marigolds

Zinnias burst from the center bed, while to their right is lacy corn cockle, a less-weedy Queen Anne's lace substitute, and lime-leafed feverfew.

Full bloom

But from the air, its traces will surely be seen for ages, and wandering through the meadow that is to replace it, people will be surprised to find corn cockle, vetch, devil's bit scabious, selfheal, agrimony, yarrow, ox-eye daisy and quaking grass: the plants of old England, all strangely gathered within the walls.

Delight

A pale, silvery lilac-pink version of the wild corn cockle, "Milas" is a summer-flowering hardy annual with large, five-petalled flowers that open out flat.

A-Z OF PLANTS FOR BEDDING; Garden Force Pt 2

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