Echium vulgare

See also Viper's Bugloss (moth) for the insect.
Viper's Bugloss
Viper's Bugloss in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Echium
Species: E. vulgare
Binomial name
Echium vulgare
L.

Echium vulgare — known as viper's bugloss and blueweed[1] — is a species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae. It is native to most of Europe, and western and central Asia[2][3] and it occurs as an introduced species in north-eastern North America.[1][4]

Description

It is a biennial or monocarpic perennial plant growing to 30–80 cm (12–31 in) tall, with rough, hairy, lanceolate leaves. The flowers start pink and turn vivid blue and are 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) in a branched spike, with all the stamens protruding. The pollen is blue[5] but the filaments of the stamens remain red, contrasting against the blue flowers. It flowers between May and September. It is found in dry calcareous grassland and heaths, bare and waste places, along railways and roadsides, and on coastal cliffs, sand dunes and shingle.[6]

Distribution

It is native to southern and western Europe and Western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and is naturalised in parts of the continent, being listed as an invasive species in Washington.[3]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 203.
  2. ↑ Flora Europaea: Echium vulgare
  3. 1 2 Germplasm Resources Information Network: Echium vulgare
  4. ↑ "Echium vulgare L.". Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Dorothy Hodges (1952). The pollen loads of the honeybee. Bee Research Association Ltd., London.
  6. ↑ Fitter, R. & A. (1974). The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Echium vulgare.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.