Viper’ bugloss – a fierce plant!

Stunning rich colours it stands out on dry exposed chalk limestone hillsides, it even likes sandy places, loving full sun. It’s Latin name, Echium vulgare, stems from Greek Echios, referring to the saw-scaled viper clan, and yes, sense the definite snake-like qualities with this plant. It’s very bristly exterior belies its soft mucilaginous interior, a characteristic of other members of this family of plants, the Borage family. You’ll know Forget-Me-Not, but have you seen tree echiums,wow! And Lacy Phacelia that grows amongst the vines to attract bees. Borage we do use for medicine , not the others, for courage, to lift mood, for cooling and inflammation, for lung complaints. There’s no disputing the power of these plants…