NEON Biorepository Data Portal - Agrostemma githago

Agrostemma githago L. No occurrences found
Family: Caryophyllaceae common corncockle Morton Arboretum	FNA vPlants Gleason & Cronquist Resources John W. Thieret in Flora of North America (vol. 5) Formerly a common weed of grain fields, Agrostemma githago is becoming increasingly scarce, both in North America and in its native environs in Europe (R. Svensson and M. Wigren 1986). Mechanical screening of grain, which removes contaminants, and modern herbicides have more or less eliminated the plant from grain fields in the flora. The saponin-containing seeds, occurring as contaminants in grain, are poisonous to livestock, birds, and humans. This species is sometimes cultivated in flower gardens. The Morton Arboretum Annual herb with a stout taproot to 1 m tall Stem: unbranched, thinly hairy. Leaves: opposite, stalkless, 8 - 12 cm long, 0.5 - 1 cm wide, linear to narrowly lance-shaped with a pointed tip, midvein prominent. Flowers: solitary at the ends of branches, reddish. Stalk upright, to 20 cm long. Stamens ten, exserted. Styles five, exserted. Sepals: forming a tube with five linear to lance-shaped lobes. Tube green, around 1.5 cm long, elliptic to egg-shaped, coarsely ten-veined, and hairy. Lobes green, 2 - 4 cm long, longer than the tube, one-veined. Petals: five, reddish (white on claw), 2 - 3 cm long, reverse lance-shaped with a notched, blunt tip. Fruit: a dehiscent capsule (opening by five ascending teeth), 1.4 - 1.8 cm long, egg-shaped, many-seeded. Similar species: Agrostemma githago has no similar species. Flowering: May to July Habitat and ecology: Introduced from Europe. A weed found in grain fields and waste places. It has also been found on railroad ballast. Not as common in the Chicago Region as it once was. Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native Notes: The seeds are poisonous to animals and humans. Etymology: Agrostemma comes from the Greek words agros, meaning field, and stemma, meaning garland. Githago means "field garland." Author: The Morton Arboretum Vascular plants of NE US and adjacent Canada Stem to 1 m, thinly hairy; lvs linear or lanceolate, 8-12 cm נ5-10 mm; fls reddish, solitary at the ends of the branches, on pedicels to 2 dm; cal-tube 12-18 mm, elliptic-ovoid, the lobes 2-4 cm, lance-linear, acute or acuminate; pet 2-3 cm, oblanceolate, retuse; fr 14-18 mm; 2n=48. Native of Europe, widely established as a weed of grainfields and waste places, most abundant in the n. part of our range. July-Sept. Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp. ©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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