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Echium vulgare

"Viper's bugloss" redirects here. For the insect, see Viper's bugloss (moth).

Viper's bugloss
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Echium
Species:
E. vulgare
Binomial name
Echium vulgare

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, south-western South America and the South and North Island of New Zealand.[1][4] The plant root was used in ancient times as a treatment for snake or viper bites.[5] If eaten, the plant is toxic to horses and cattle through the accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the liver.[6][7]

Description

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It is a biennial or monocarpic perennial plant growing to 30–80 cm (12–31 in) tall, with rough, hairy, oblanceolate leaves.[8] The stems, which are red-flecked, resemble snake's skin and even the fruits are shaped like adders' heads.[9] 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[10] but the filaments of the stamens remain red, contrasting against the blue flowers. It flowers between May and September in the Northern Hemisphere. The Latin specific epithet vulgare means common.[5]

Distribution

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It is native to Europe and temperate Asia. It has been introduced to Chile,[11] New Zealand[12] and North America, where it is naturalised in parts of the continent including northern Michigan,[3] being listed as an invasive species in Washington.[13] 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.[14]

Cultivation

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E. vulgare is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and numerous cultivars have been developed. The cultivar 'Blue Bedder' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[15][16]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Echium vulgare". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Echium vulgare L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Echium vulgare - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Guide to Poisonous Plants – College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences". csuvth.colostate.edu. Colorado State University. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  7. ^ Klemow, Kenneth M.; Clements, David R.; Threadgill, Paul F.; Cavers, Paul B. (1 January 2002). "The biology of Canadian weeds. 116. Echium vulgare L.". Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 82 (1): 235–248. doi:10.4141/P01-058.
  8. ^ Graves, Melissa; Mangold, Jane; Jacobs, Jim. "Biology, Ecology and Management of Blueweed" (PDF). store.msuextension.org. Montana State University. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Echium vulgare - Viper's Bugloss". www.first-nature.com. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  10. ^ Dorothy Hodges (1952). The pollen loads of the honeybee. Bee Research Association Ltd., London.
  11. ^ "Description and images of Echium vulgare (Hierba azul , Viborera , Ortiguilla), a native Chilean plant, provided by the supplier of native exotic Chilean seeds, Chileflora.com". www.chileflora.com. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  12. ^ "Echium vulgare". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  13. ^ "Common viper's bugloss: Echium vulgare (Lamiales: Boraginaceae): Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States". www.invasiveplantatlas.org. Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  14. ^ Fitter, R. & A. (1974). The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins.
  15. ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Echium vulgare 'Blue Bedder'". Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  16. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 35. Retrieved 24 January 2018.