Daily Botanical: Vipers Bugloss (Echium vulgare)
The Vipers Bugloss is in full effect right now, going for broke in Toronto’s waste spaces and fields. I have a particular fondness for this plant and watch its progress every year yet I have never seen so much before, covering such vast areas. While the plant is known for its ability to thrive in poor, dry soils I can only assume that this year’s bloom has been caused by the strange weather and regular rains we’ve been having.
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
This is one of my favorite plants I have it growing in my garden.The blue is heavenly and then there’s the pink…….
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:39 am
Oh man - this stuff brings out big, sentimental welts on my legs, just from the memory of running through fields of it as a kid.
In Australia, it’s called either “Salvation Jane” or “Patterson’s Curse”, depending on where you live. “Curse” might be more appropriate, considering it costs tens of millions of dollars a year to control, let alone the other damage it does to environments.