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UK Nature  > Wild Flowers  > Blue & Purple Wild Flowers  > Echium vulgare




Scientific Name:   Echium vulgare
Common Name:   Viper's Bugloss

Echium vulgare, commonly known as Viper's Bugloss, is a hairy plant with dense spikes of bright blue, funnel-shaped flowers. It is found on chalk grassland, sand dunes, cliffs and disturbed ground, and is in bloom from May to September. Usually biennial, but can be annual or even perennial. It provides food for a range of insects, including Buff-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebees, Large Skipper and Painted Lady butterflies, Honeybees and Red Mason Bees.

Viper's Bugloss may have got its common name, 'Viper', from its spotted stem, which is said to resemble a snake's markings, or from the shape of its flowers, which look like the head of a snake. 'Bugloss' comes from the Greek meaning 'ox's tongue' and refers to the rough, tongue-shaped leaves. Scattered distribution in the UK, most common in the south. Somewhat declined since the 1930s, due to agricultural intensification and habitat loss.










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