Echium vulgare

Scientific description

Phylum: Angiospermatophyta (Magnoliophyta)
Class: Dicotyledonatae (Magnoliatae)
Subclass: Asterideae
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Common names: viper's bugloss, blueweed.
Origin: Eurasian.

Description:
It is a biennial herbaceous plant with coarse, stiff, and prickly hairs. The root is a black taproot with numerous absorbing root hairs. The stem is erect, up to 1 meter tall, rigid, unbranched or branched from the base, covered with short soft hairs, interspersed with long, bristle-like hairs. The leaves are simple, without stipules, linear-lanceolate; the basal ones are petiolate and arranged in a rosette, while the stem leaves are sessile, single-veined, and hairy. The flowers are arranged in simple cymose inflorescences, are zygomorphic, and based on the number five. The calyx is formed of five linear-lanceolate, fused sepals; the corolla is funnel-shaped, without fornices, has five unequal lobes, slightly curved and bilabiate, pubescent and fused. The androecium consists of five curved stamens pointing upwards and fused to the corolla tube. The gynoecium features a nectar disc at the base, a long style ending in a bilobed stigma, with a superior position, and is bicarpellary. It blooms from May to July. The flowers are pink and turn vivid blue. The fruit is a nutlet.

Propagation: by seeds.

Ecology:
Common from lowland areas to hills, found in meadows, thickets, and ruderal places.

Uses:
It is a melliferous (honey-producing) plant with horticultural importance and can be cultivated as an ornamental plant. It also has medicinal uses; the stem tip and inflorescence, rich in allantoin and tannins, are used to treat diarrhea and enteritis. The seeds contain a large amount of fatty oil rich in linolenic and stearidonic acids and can be used to treat dyslipidemia.

Hazard: It is toxic to mammals due to its content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, so in pasture areas, shepherds often eliminate it.

Creative writing inspired by Echium vulgare

Written by Mara Parfinov

The Serpent’s Grass

Once upon a time, there was a distant little village. The inhabitants were very few, so doctors were rarely found. However, because of that, they had grown used to helping one another, whenever needed. But one day, a dangerous stomach disease appeared, spreading rapidly, and soon almost the entire village was affected. The people had no cure for this illness, and with each passing day, more and more of them began to perish.

One day, a thirteen-year-old girl named Lidia, who had a very sharp mind, came up with the idea of making a medicine to cure the disease. She searched through all sorts of books until she found some of the best ingredients used in remedies for various illnesses. One of these was a plant called the Serpent’s Grass. Lidia had no idea where to find this flower, but she first gathered the other ingredients: salt, pepper, cinnamon, and three seashells. Then, she went to the field near her house and started searching for the mysterious plant. She had studied it in books and learned that it was very good for stomach ailments and that it had a purple color. Two very useful pieces of information. She searched for hours but couldn’t find it. Just as she was about to give up, something shimmered in the sunlight. Something… purple! The girl stared in amazement, barely able to believe it, but at the same time, she felt excitement surging through her…she had finally found the much-desired plant. Carefully, she picked it from the field and took it home. She mixed the ingredients in a bowl with pure, untouched water, convinced that this was the way to obtain the perfect potion. The liquid in the vessel began to take on a strange, brownish hue, and a fine mist rose above its surface. Lidia was overjoyed: the medicine was ready. She took several bottles and filled them with the brown potion. Then, she went from door to door, handing them out, hoping that her remedy would work.

A week later, more and more people began appearing at Lidia’s door to thank her. Seeing so many people coming to her, Lidia felt happy and proud. She had managed to discover a rare cure… all because she had refused to give up and had continued searching for that purple plant, the most important ingredient of all. She smiled to herself and promised that in the future, she would try to find remedies for as many diseases as possible. Of course, she dreamed of becoming famous, but above all, she wanted to do it to help people. “No one deserves to suffer,” she said. And maybe even today, she continues to work, creating remedies for complicated diseases and believing in herself, never giving up. She spends her days among shelves filled with dried herbs, vials of mysterious potions, and old parchments inscribed with forgotten recipes. Every sunrise finds her in the improvised laboratory, experimenting patiently, always searching for the perfect combination that could bring relief to those in pain.

3D Interactive View

Authentic Specimen