Ontario
Weeds: Purple cockle
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Leaves
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Caution
- Related Links
Name: Purple cockle, Agrostemma githago
L.,
Other Names: Corn cockle, nielle, nielle
des blés, nielle des champs
Family: Pink Family (Caryophyllaceae)
General Description: Annual or sometimes
biennial, reproducing only by seed.
Photos and Pictures
Purple cockle.
Stems & Roots: Stems - erect, 30-120cm
(1-4ft.) high, hairy, with swollen nodes;
Leaves: Opposite (2 per node), stalkless,
linear to lance shaped, 5-13cm (2-5in.) long, narrow and silky hairy;
Flowers & Fruit: Flowers large,
showy purple or purplish-red on long stalks, the 5 green sepals united
for 1/3 to ½ their length forming a calyx tube 12-18mm (½-¾in.)
long; the calyx lobes (sepal tips) 2-4cm (4/5-1½in.) long,
narrow and projecting between and past the petals; petals 5, large,
spreading, purple or purplish-red with black spots; as the seedpod
expands inside the calyx tube, it emphasizes the 10 prominent, hairy
green, lengthwise ribs on the calyx tube; the mature seedpod inside
the calyx being smooth, hairless and orange-brown, and opening with
4 or usually 5 teeth at the top; seeds purplish-black, rounded-angular,
about 3mm (1/8in.) across and densely covered with tiny, sharp bumps.
Flowers from June to September.
Habitat: Purple cockle was a very common
weed in southern Ontario in the days of horse-drawn farm implements
but, with the change in farming techniques, it has largely disappeared.
However, it still occurs sporadically in cultivated fields, especially
in fall-sown crops such as wheat and rye, in the central and western
parts of southern Ontario.
Similar Species: It is distinguished by
its silky hairy stems with opposite, long, narrow leaves, large purple
flowers and large purplish-black seeds.
Caution: Though rare, it is important because
its seeds are poisonous to livestock and fowl so it should be eliminated
from feed grain.
Related Links
... on general Weed
topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
| Back
to the Ontario Weeds Gallery | Top of Page
|
