mountain bluet, Centaurea montana

Mountain bluets are native to Europe, and are now popular in our gardens. They're closely related to bachelor's-buttons/cornflowers, but perennial instead of annual. These also have fewer but larger flower heads. In olden days in their native areas they were used to treat dropsy, sore mouths, and as an eyewash. There was a belief that these worked best for blue eyes. Mountain bluets have gone wild in AK, CO, ID, ME, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, OR, PA, UT, WA, WI, WY, BC, NB, NF, ON, QC, and on SPM. Cultivated, Lenawee Co MI, 5/1/12. Aster family, Asteraceae.