PLANT PROFILE

Echium vulgare
viper's bugloss



Echium vulgare
Echium vulgare
Photo courtesy Wikicommons
Britton & Brown
Botanical name: Echium vulgare L.  
Common name: viper's bugloss
Group: dicot
Family: Boraginaceae
Growth type: forb/herb
Duration: annual, perennial, biennial
Origin: introduced
Plant height: 30 - 80 cm
Foliage: basal leaves oval; broader toward tip; stem leaves progressively smaler, linear & stalkless; plant bristly
Flower: start out pink and turn vivid blue; long, red projecting stamens
Flowering time: June - September
Habitat: roadside, fields, waste places
Range in New Jersey: statewide
Heritage ranking, if any: n/a
Distribution:
Misc. flowers open one or two at a time. Southern European. Contains alkaloids that are toxic to livestock.