Viper's bugloss Echium vulgare 
 
 
Family:         Boraginaceae Borage family
Habit:           Biennial
Flowering:  June to September
Soils:          Prefers light well drained soil, likes lime but not fussy
Sun:             Full sun
 
It was first described botanically by Turner in 1551, who noted it “groweth in gravylly and sandy places”1..  Other names include snake flower, cat’s tail, blue devil and adderwort.  The hairy leaves can cause irritation to sensitive skin. Culpeper described it as “a most gallant herb of the Sun, it is  pity it is no more in use than it is”2..  He considered it a remedy against adder bite, and against all other venomous beasts.  It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can be a problem for livestock
References
 
 
1.   Pearman, D. (2017). The Discovery of the Native Flora of Britain and Ireland, A compilation of the first records for 1670 species and aggregates, covering Great Britain, Ireland, The Channel Isles and the Isle of Man. Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland.  p183
 
2.  Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (2019) ed. Steven Foster  Sterling New York p245-6
 
3.  See the Biological Record Centre database 
 
 
Page written by Steve Head
 
Viper's bugloss Echium vulgare 
 
 
Family:         Boraginaceae Borage family
Habit:           Biennial
Flowering:  June to September
Soils:          Prefers light well drained soil, likes lime but not fussy
Sun:             Full sun
 
This is a most beautiful blue native plant, producing flower spikes 0.5 to 1m in height, or even more in very fertile soil.  A biennial, it forms a low rosette of leaves in its first year, before growing strongly vertically in the second.  It seeds freely.
 
 
Right - first year rosettes of viper's bugloss
 
 
 
Its association with snakes allegedly comes from its speckled prickly stem and protruding style and forked stigma which looks a bit like a snake’s tongue.  The genus name “Echium” is named after the latin word “echis”  for viper, while the word "bugloss" - or ox-tongue - comes from its rough leaves.It was first described botanically by Turner in 1551, who noted it “groweth in gravylly and sandy places”1..  Other names include snake flower, cat’s tail, blue devil and adderwort.  The hairy leaves can cause irritation to sensitive skin. Culpeper described it as “a most gallant herb of the Sun, it is  pity it is no more in use than it is”2..  He considered it a remedy against adder bite, and against all other venomous beasts.  It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can be a problem for livestock
Viper’s bugloss is our only native species of Echium, but there are others which can be grown with winter protection or outdoors in the south-west.  Echium pininana  is a magnificent biennial from La Palma which grows to up to 3m tall and is a startling feature in warm west country and some frost-free London gardens.  I have two perennial Echium candicans or “Pride of Madeira” specimens grown from seed and now 2m tall shrubs, taking up most of the space in my heated greenhouse in the winter. Several other spectacular but tender Echium species come from the Canary Islands.
 
Right: Echium pininana growing in Coleton Fishacre in Devon
 
 
 
Viper’s bugloss is host to about 40 insect species, such as the painted lady butterfly Cynthia cardui and many moths including Hepialus sylvina the orange swift.  It is a magnet for pollinators, especially bees of all sorts, and is ranked as the fifth most valuable wildlife garden flower on our analysis, so a must to try in your garden.
 
 
References
 
 
1.   Pearman, D. (2017). The Discovery of the Native Flora of Britain and Ireland, A compilation of the first records for 1670 species and aggregates, covering Great Britain, Ireland, The Channel Isles and the Isle of Man. Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland.  p183
 
2.  Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (2019) ed. Steven Foster  Sterling New York p245-6
 
3.  See the Biological Record Centre database 
 
 
Page written by Steve Head
 
This is a most beautiful blue native plant, producing flower spikes 0.5 to 1m in height, or even more in very fertile soil.  A biennial, it forms a low rosette of leaves in its first year, before growing strongly vertically in the second.  It seeds freely.
 
 
Right - first year rosettes of viper's bugloss
 
Its association with snakes allegedly comes from its speckled prickly stem and protruding style and forked stigma which looks a bit like a snake’s tongue.  The genus name “Echium” is named after the latin word “echis”  for viper, while the word "bugloss" - or ox-tongue - comes from its rough leaves.
 
Viper’s bugloss is our only native species of Echium, but there are others which can be grown with winter protection or outdoors in the south-west.  Echium pininana  is a magnificent biennial from La Palma which grows to up to 3m tall and is a startling feature in warm west country and some frost-free London gardens.  I have two perennial Echium candicans or “Pride of Madeira” specimens grown from seed and now 2m tall shrubs, taking up most of the space in my heated greenhouse in the winter. Several other spectacular but tender Echium species come from the Canary Islands.
 
 
Left: Echium pininana growing in Coleton Fishacre in Devon
 
 
Viper’s bugloss is host to about 40 insect species, such as the painted lady butterfly Cynthia cardui and many moths including Hepialus sylvina the orange swift.  It is a magnet for pollinators, especially bees of all sorts, and is ranked as the fifth most valuable wildlife garden flower on our analysis, so a must to try in your garden.
           Garden Wildplants
        Garden Wildplants