ECHIUM VULGARE

Family and Genus:- See- BORAGINACEAE

Common Names:- Viper's-bugloss

Homotypic synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Echium (Gr) Viper, a name used by the Greek physician Dioscorides'

for a plant that was used to cure snakebite.

Vulgare (L) Vulgar, common.

General description:- A bristly biennial or monocarpic perennial herb.

Stems:-

1) Upright, stiff, and covered in rough bristly hairs. They feature reddish or purple

spots (flecks) that resemble snake skin.

Leaves:-

1) Oblanceolate to lanceolate, simple, and coarsely hairy with bristly margins. First-

year leaves form a dense basal rosette

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, dense, branched cylindrical spikes.

2) Corolla, funnel-shaped, blooms that start out pink and turn vivid blue or violet-

blue.

3) Stamens, prominent and protruding past the flower mouth.

a) filaments staying red while the pollen is blue, creating a sharp color contrast.

Fruit:-

1) Nutlets, 4, rough, shaped like adder snake heads.

Distinguishing features:-

1) Stems, upright and unbranched, covered in sharp bristles and marked with

reddish spots or flecks that resemble a snake's skin.

2) Flowers, funnel-shaped and bilaterally symmetrical, starting as pink buds before

turning a vivid, deep blue or purple.

3) Stamens, 5 in total, with four long filaments extending far beyond the flower tube

in a contrasting bright red.

4) Leaves, rough, hairy, and lanceolate.

Click here for a glossary of terms used

Toxicity:- Contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids; it can cause skin irritation on contact

and liver damage or digestive upset if ingested by humans or livestock

Habitat:- In sunny, open, and disturbed habitats featuring poor, well-drained

limestone, chalk, or sandy soils. Chalk and limestone downs on bare, sunny

patches, coastal areas including sea cliffs, sand dunes, and shingle beaches, Dry

heaths and open grasslands with low soil fertility

Distribution:- Native to most of Europe and western and central Asia, and it is

widely naturalized across North America, South America, and New Zealand.

Extending from the Mediterranean up to temperate regions, as well as Great Britain,

Ireland, and the Channel Islands.

Flowering time:- May to September in the Northern Hemisphere.

Status:- Listed as a species of Least Concern on the GB Red List and IUCN Red

List, and is considered a native, widespread but local wildflower in Great Britain.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton