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

Echium vulgare L.
viper's bugloss (blueweed; common viper's bugloss)
Boraginaceae (Borage family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Larry Halverson  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #81468)

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Distribution of Echium vulgare
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Species Information

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General:
Biennial herb from a taproot, roughly long- or short-hairy and spreading-bristly, the bristles often bulbous-based; stems single, 30-80 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate, narrowed to stalk, 6-25 cm long (stalk included), 0.5-3 cm wide; stem leaves becoming smaller and unstalked upward, alternate, entire.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of numerous short, coiled clusters in a long, narrow (often wandlike) cluster; corollas funnel-shaped, asymmetric (upper part longer); petals blue (sometimes pink or white), fused at base into a short tube that flares at top into 5 unequal lobes, the throat open without bulges; 4 of 5 stamens exserted from the corolla.
Fruits:
Nutlets 4, clustered together, angular, roughened and wrinkled.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry roadsides and waste places in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent in C and S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, infrequent on the coast; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Additional Notes

Blueweed is a species of disturbed sites and roadsides. It is listed by the Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia as one of BC's most unwanted species. Visit their web site.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Echium vulgare

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 670 834 1050
Slope Gradient (%) 30 54 65
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		175 219 280
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		1 2 3
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 5
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: IDF(4), PP(1)

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.

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 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: 2025-01-14 8:22:48 AM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
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