Distinguishing Feature : Shaped like a shuttlecock with five extra-long thin sepals projecting well beyond the boundaries of the petals.

Was once a very common weed of cornfields but now virtually extinct due to herbicides and that the seed of Corn-cockle does not remain viable for very long when dormant in the soil. Now much more likely to be seen growing in seeds sold and sown as 'wild-flower mixtures'.

The only member of the Agrostemma Genus (at least in the UK).

The shuttlecock shape is reminiscent of that of Goatsbeard but that has eight rather than five extended sepals.

Githagenin (aka Githagin, aka Gypsogenin) is one of a number toxic of triterpene saponins present in Corn-cockle. Agrostemmic Acid is another. Together with a non-protein amino acid, orcylalanin and a lectin agrostin make the seeds of Corn-cockle especially poisonous, but all parts of the plant contain some toxins. Formerly widespread as a weed amongst cereal crops, the seeds of Corn-cockle presented a particular contaminatory hazard to the harvest. The seeds are lethal in amounts greater than just 5 grams. Poisoning of humans and livestock used to be a common occurrence, but after several decades of herbicidal spraying, it is more or less extinct in arable fields.

The seedlings, like other seedlings, contain both Allantoin and Allantoic Acid. Allantoic Acid, along with Allantoin, is involved in fixing nitrogen in the root nodules of the Pea Family especially in Soybeans, and are transported upwards in the xylem for further use by the plants. The plants use these chemicals in the production of other nitrogenous compounds. It will be seen that the two structures are almost identical, with Allentoin having the right-most group swivelled about and fused into a ring, losing one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, i.e. water, in the process. Excepting humans, allantoin is a major un-wanted by-product of metabolism in animals that is excreted in urine. It is also a major metabolite in plants, and is also present in Comfrey. It is artificially manufactured on a grand scale for use in cosmetics as moisturisers and to help the skin shed dead outer skin cells, making the skin feel smooth, all to make the person look younger.

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