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Echium vulgare

Common name:	Viper's Bugloss	Family:	Boraginaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The leaves are poisonous[20]. No cases of poisoning have ever been recorded for this plant[76]. The bristly hairs on the leaves and stems can cause severe dermatitis[207].
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, the Urals and W. Asia.
Habitat:	Calcareous and light dry soils, especially on cliffs near the sea[4, 7, 17]. It is also found on walls, old quarries and gravel pits[4].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Blue Devil [L], Blueweed [L,H], Common Viper's-bugloss [B], Common Vipersbugloss [P], Havaciva Otu [E], Slangenkruid [D], Viborera [E], Viper'S Bugloss [E], Viper's Bugloss [MS,H,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	vulgare = common
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Borage family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Spain Turkey
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Washington, New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmaina.

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 0.9m by 0.6m . It is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, In Walls, In South Wall, In East Wall, In West Wall.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Young leaves - raw or cooked[7, 9, 13]. They can be used as a spinach substitute[9]. Mild and mucilaginous[K]. Although somewhat hairy, when chopped up finely they are an acceptable part of a mixed salad[K]. Eating the leaves is said to stimulate sexual desire[9]. Use with caution, there is an unconfirmed report of toxicity[21].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antitussive Aphrodisiac Demulcent Diaphoretic Diuretic Emollient Pectoral Vulnerary.

Viper's bugloss was once considered to be a preventative and remedy for viper bites[254]. It is related to borage, Borago officinalis, and has many similar actions, especially in its sweat-inducing and diuretic effects[254]. In recent times, however, it has fallen out of use, partly due to lack of interest in its medicinal potential and partly to its content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are toxic in isolation[254].
The leaves and flowering stems are antitussive, aphrodisiac, demulcent, diaphoretic, diuretic, pectoral and vulnerary[4, 7, 222]. An infusion of the plant is taken internally as a diuretic and in the treatment of fevers, headaches, chest conditions etc[244, 254]. The juice of the plant is an effective emollient for reddened and delicate skins, it is used as a poultice or plaster to treat boils and carbuncles[7, 254]. The leaves are harvested in the summer and can be dried for later use[7].
The roots contain the healing agent allantoin[222].
The plant is said to be efficacious in the treatment of snake bites[4]. When chopped up finely, the fresh flowering heads can be made into a poultice for treating whitlows and boils[7].

Other Uses

Dye.

A red dye is obtained from the root[7].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any good garden soil but flowers best when the soil is not too rich[1]. Requires a sunny position[200].
The plant is very deep rooted[4].
A good bee plant[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow February-May or August-November in situ. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks at 15° c.
If the seed is in short supply then it can be sown in pots in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.

Suppliers

Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.

Wildwood Nurseries: Lower Manor Cottage
Thornbury
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7DD
Email: lorna@macace.co.uk
Phone 01409 261324 Fax 01409 261324
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Wildwood by email/phone
Last Updated: March 03
Item: Echium vulgare (viper's bugloss)

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for echium vulgare (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Boraginaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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