If you try fitting one of these flowers over one of your fingertips, you’ll soon see why the scientific name of this cottage-garden favourite means ‘finger-like’. The burred seed are exceptionally well-adapted to grip onto the fur of passing animals, like natural Velcro. It has a long history of medicinal use, deriving its name from Argemone, a term used in ancient Greece to describe plants believed to beneficial to the eyes.