E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Anchusa azurea Mill.
Italian bugloss
Boraginaceae (Borage family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Anchusa azurea
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Anchusa azurea var. azurea

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a taproot, spreading stiff-hairy; stems mostly single, 0.4-1.5 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves stalked, oblanceolate; stem leaves unstalked, lanceolate or narrowly egg-shaped to oblong, to 30 cm long and 8 cm wide, alternate, entire.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal cluster; petals blue, fused into a tube 10-12 mm long that spreads (12-25 mm wide) at the top to 5 peg-shaped lobes, throat closed by 5 white, frilly bulges; calyx lobes 5, linear, white-bristly.

Fruits:
Nutlets 4, clustered together, erect, asymmetric, 5-9 mm tall, 3-5 mm thick, irregularly ridged, concave and with thickened rim at the base.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry waste places, forest edges and shrubby banks in the lowland zone; rare on Vancouver Island, known only from Malahat area; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Anchusa azurea	Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed
Anchusa azurea var. azurea	Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Anchusa italica Retz.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-12-04 12:39:29 AM ]

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