Echium vulgare L.
viper's bugloss (blueweed; common viper's bugloss)
Boraginaceae (Borage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
viper's bugloss (blueweed; common viper's bugloss)
Boraginaceae (Borage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Larry Halverson (Photo ID #81468)
Species Information
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.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
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)
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
834 | 670 | 1050 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
54 | 30 | 65 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
219 | 175 | 280 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
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) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and 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.Status Information
Taxonomic 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.
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