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Corn-Cockle

Scientific Names


• Agrostemma githago L.
• Pink family

Parts Usually Used

Seeds
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

A tall silky biennial or annual weed (agrostemma githago), grows 1-3 feet tall, of the pink family, with flat, pinkish flowers and poisonous seeds. The leaves are lance-shaped; petals deep pink, veined. Flowers June to September.
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Where Found

Noxious weed often found in grain fields, waste places. Throughout the United States.
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Uses

Minute amounts of powdered seeds once taken in honey as a diuretic, expectorant, vermifuge (dewormer); used for jaundice, dropsy, and gastritis. Some European folk use for cancers, warts, and hard swellings in the uterus.
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Warning

Seeds are toxic, especially when broken; dangerous saponins are concentrated in seed embryo.

If seeds are to be used, do so only with medical supervision.
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Bibliography

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

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