Bachelor buttons are more commonly called cornflowers but
they are also called bluet, basket flowers or the old-fashioned
blue-bottle. They are members of the
genus Centaurea, a diverse group of man different species. The name bachelor’s button comes from the
lasting quality of the flower when worn in the buttonhole of a suit or
shirt. Decades ago, bachelors sported
the flower when they went courting. Mountain bluet orginagtes in France.
Basket-flower blooms get their name from the ray-like outer petals that
make the heads look as if they are set in a shallow basket. Most Centaureas come from Europe where they
cover fields and waysides and have been part of gardens for centuries. Cornflowers grow wild in corn fields and
bloom throughout the season.
