Symbolism of plants: examples from European-Mediterranean culture presented with biology and history of art: SEPTEMBER: Cornflower

Who does not admire the beautiful blue of the cornflowers in summer cornfields and later in field margins and open places? Cornflowers are symbols of very old traditions, especially that of reanimation due to their annual revival with the growing crop. The authors chose cornflower for the end of summer and as a plant that has followed agriculture since the Stone Age. Its annual persistence reminds us of the cultural ebb and flow of mankind throughout the centuries. Centaurea cyanus and related species, commonly called cornflowers, are members of the Asteraceae-Tubuliflorae, having flowers with tubular corollas in their inflorescence (Fig. 1). In contrast to Cichorium, for example, the plants do not contain latex. Unlike other species of Centaurea, C. cyanus is an annual (therophyte) that germinates more or less together with cereal crops, and has been particularly prevalent in rye fields on the European continent. However, with the increasing use of herbicides, cornflower has become rare in many parts of Europe. In contrast, there are reports that cornflower was even a severe nuisance in the Middle Ages, not only because it reduced crop yields but also because it blunted scythes and sickles (Beuchert, 2004; Zerling, 2007). The cornflower of ancient Egypt was the very similar C. depressa, which was not indigenous to Egypt but arrived there from Western Asia, probably with imported grain seeds (Wagenitz, 1983). C. cyanus contains many bioactive compounds, including glycosides, a blue anthocyanin, and tannins (Rivolier, 1985). All parts of the plant were used as medicines, believed to relieve fever, cleanse the blood, as an astringent, a diuretic, and a purgative. Cornflower essences were used as a remedy for eye problems, mainly conjunctivitis and tired eyes, even regionally called ‘casse-lunettes’ in France (Rivolier, 1985). Top: European cornflower, Centaurea cyanus. Vienna (Kandeler). Bottom: wall tile fragment with C. depressa, Amarna (Egypt), the reign of Echnaton, c. 1350 BC. (Ausstellungskatalog, Wien, 1975). In ancient Egypt, reproductions of cornflowers have been found dating back to the first half of the 4th millennium BC (Stone to Bronze Age). As a companion of cereal plants and probably also because of its similar colour to the blue lotus (Nymphaea coerulea), it soon became a symbol of life and fertility. It was even cultivated as a garden plant, portrayed, for instance, on wall friezes, and on wall and floor designs in houses and palaces of the Amarna period (1364–1347 BC). Often flower heads appeared on faience and glazed earthenware (Fig. 1), which was also used for pendants of earrings, necklaces, and collars for ladies (Germer, 1985). From the 18th dynasty (from 1552 BC) until the Greek–Roman period, florists used cornflower heads for grave decorations. In the tomb of Tut-ankh-Amun, Howard Carter (in 1922) found wreaths and garlands of cornflowers together with petals of the blue lotus flower on the three coffins (Germer, 1985; Newberry, 1973). Plants were given to the deceased to accompany him on his way, as an aid for reanimation. The pharaohs, at their funerals, were believed to become one with Osiris, the god of fertility. Osiris had introduced agriculture and, after being murdered by his brother Seth, became the sovereign of the underworld. From the underworld he was repeatedly resurrected in the growing corn (Lurker, 1987), providing a natural link between the cornflower, Osiris, and the force of reanimation. Cyanus (blue) was the name of the cornflower from Mediterranean antiquity up to the 18th century. The scientific name of the genus, Centaurea (given by Linnaeus) was derived from the story of the ‘centaur’ Chiron, Achilles’ adviser. According to Greek myth, Achilles was wounded with a poisoned arrow (by Herakles), and his wound was healed by applying cornflower plants. The poison came from Hydra, in Greek mythology usually imagined as a huge poisonous water snake, but at that time interpreted as a giant slug. In Christian symbolism, slugs were associated with the devil, hence the remedy, cornflower, became a symbol of the Queen of Heaven, Mary, and Christ, and was often depicted in paintings of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, frequently seen in Christian frescos. A fine example is found in St Michael's church in Bamberg (northern Bavaria). On the vaulted ceiling several hundred plant species have been depicted, among them cornflower (Fig. 2). Cornflower plant painted in a pendentive of the vaulted ceiling, St Michael church, Bamberg (Germany), after 1610 (Wikipedia). The cornflower has also been used as a symbol of tenderness, of fidelity, and of reliability (Beuchert, 2004). Botticelli (15th century) decorated the garments of some of the figures in his paintings with a cornflower design (e.g. in the ‘Birth of Venus’). Another example from Botticelli was discussed in the Plant Culture series by Battey (2003) as a decoration of ‘spring’ personified. By contrast, cornflower has also been used as a symbol of power and majesty such as in the tapestry called ‘Verdure of arms of Emperor Charles V’ (Fig. 3). The two-headed eagle as the sign of the Habsburg Monarchy and the coat of arms is surrounded by various realistically-drawn plants, among them cornflower, with its tubular florets and characteristic bracts dominating the space. ‘Verdure with arms of Emperor Charles V of Habsburg’ with various depictions of plants that symbolize power and sovereignty. Tapestry from southern Netherlands (Willem Pannemaker), c. 1540–1555. Cornflower on the left side. Right side: detail. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, with permission. Despite many centuries as a weed, cornflower has long been a dramatic pictorial emblem. Its resurgence in popularity as a garden flower, a favourite of Emperor Wilhelm I in Germany, for example (Beuchert, 2004), if not its association with tenderness, power, and magnificence might yet save it from extinction by modern agricultural expedience.