Common names:
Viper's bugloss, blueweed
Family:
Scientific name:
Echium vulgare
Main flower color:
Range:
Commonest in Wales and south/central England, but also found in most other regions
Height:
Up to 80 cm
Habitat:
Dry, grassy places, often sandy or calcareous locations, especially coastal
Flowers:
In clusters at the leaf nodes along the upper portion of the stem, which is covered with bristles, red at the base. Buds are pinkish-red, developing into large, blue-purple flowers with a funnel-shaped corolla opening to five, unequally-sized lobes. Four stamens and a hairy pistil project well beyond the corolla lobes; a fifth stamen is much shorter
Leaves:
Linear, slightly folded along the midvein; up to 15 cm long. There are no side veins
Season:
May to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
