Common Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) ¨C also written "corn cockle" and "corn-cockle" and known locally simply as "the corncockle" ¨C, is a slender pink flower of European corn fields. In the 19th century, it was reported as a very common weed of wheat fields and its seeds were inadvertently included in harvested wheat seed and then re-sown the following season. It is very likely that until the 20th century, most wheat contained some corncockle seed.

    It is now present in many parts of the temperate world as an alien species, probably introduced with imported European wheat. It is known to occur throughout much of the USA and parts of Canada, parts of Australia and New Zealand.

    In parts of Europe such as the UK, intensive mechanised farming has put the plant at risk and it is now uncommon or local. This is partly due to increased use of herbicides but probably much more to do with changing patterns of agriculture with most wheat now sown in the autumn as winter wheat and then harvested before any corncockle would have flowered or set seed.