What does cowherb mean?
The cowherb (Vaccaria segetalis) is an annual flowering plant of the carnation family, native to Europe and widely naturalized elsewhere. Growing about two feet tall, it bears grey-green leaves and clusters of five-petalled pink flowers above distinctive inflated, bladder-like calyces that gave rise to one of its alternative names, bladder soapwort. Once a familiar summer sight as a weed among crops — hence names like cow cockle and cow soapwort — it has become less common with modern herbicides but persists on disturbed ground and in wildflower settings. Its seeds have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine under the name wang bu liu xing, and the plant's soapy qualities link it to its soapwort relatives. Today the word appears chiefly in botany, gardening, and herbal literature.
nounA European plant (Vaccaria segetalis, formerly Saponaria vaccaria) of the carnation family, with pink flowers and inflated bladder-like calyces, formerly a common weed of cornfields.
- The plant Vaccaria segetalis, an annual cornfield weed of the carnation family with pink flowers and bladder-like calyces.
"The old cornfield still turned pale pink each June with scattered cowherb among the wheat."
"By midsummer the fallow field was dotted with the soft pink blooms of cowherb."
"In traditional Chinese medicine, the seeds of the cowherb are known as wang bu liu xing."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple plants.
"Pink cowherbs lined the margin of the harvested field."
Its round, papery seed pods look like tiny bladders — which is why farmers once called it 'bladder soapwort.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cowherb
The word cowherb combines 'cow' with 'herb,' following the pattern of other 'cow-' plant names (such as cowslip and cow parsley) that were associated with cattle pasture or fields. It has been used in English since at least the early modern period for this cornfield weed. The genus name Vaccaria reflects the same pastoral association, while the species epithet segetalis means 'of the cornfields' in Latin. The plant belongs to the pink family alongside true soapworts, whose roots lather in water.
How cowherb is actually used
Mostly encountered in botanical, agricultural-historical, or herbal-medicine contexts rather than everyday speech; it is a somewhat literary or technical word today.
Easily confused with cowherb
A cowslip is a yellow-flowered primrose, whereas the cowherb is a pink-flowered cornfield plant of the carnation family.