Viper's Bugloss

(Echium vulgare)

 

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of Arthur Perdick

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Flowers initially pink turning blue with age. Five petals fused in their lower halves, with upper petal constricted, large, forming a hood. Stamens projecting past corolla margin. Sepals elongate, bristly. Flowers in short, curled sprays from leaf axils. Stem hairy. Leaves hairy, elongate, with smooth outer margins. Plant 1 to 2.5 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout North America except for parts of the southeastern and southwestern states.

Habitat: Viper's Bugloss is a weedy plant of disturbed habitats such as empty lots, fields, and roadsides.

Flowering period: June to September.

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare)

Similar Species:

The blue or pink flowers with a projecting hood and stamens projecting beyond the corolla as well as the bristly sepals left after the flowers drop readily identify this species.

Similar Species

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