If you want to support us, we would be happy if you find something in our Nordic Shop: Echium vulgare - Viper's Bugloss: https://www.nordischer-shop.at/produk... German: Common or Blue Viper's Bugloss Synonyms: Blue Henry, Proud Henry, Iron Hart Botanical: Echium vulgare Family: Borage or Borage family, Borraginaceae Biennial pioneer plant Height: 30–120 (150) cm Flowering period: May - August (partially re-blooming, with or without pruning) Flower: first pink-violet then blue, rarely white, high nectar and pollen content Fruit/seeds: Leaf: elongated, lanceolate, rough Root: deep taproot Growth: down-to-earth, densely-attached ground rosette in the first year, in the second year several upright inflorescences usually rise from it Use in the garden: on all normal to dry soils, especially interesting for creating a rapid flowering splendour Bucket, trough: Habitat: sunny, rubble and gravel areas, railway embankments, roadsides Soil: undemanding, from poor to nutrient-rich, stony-sandy to loamy, normal to quite dry Combination: Toadflax, Orange Hawkweed, all scabious, meadow knapweed, scabious cornflower, pasqueflower, spiny restharrow, mullein, rosemary willowherb Benefits for animals: An incredible insect magnet! As are other well-known members of the borage family (ox tongue, borage, large and small waxflower, lungwort, Caucasian comfrey, common comfrey, knotted comfrey), both the particularly sugar-rich nectar and pollen are released in very large quantities. A constant buzzing and humming surrounds the viper's bugloss. The styles and stamens protruding from the flower help the insects to land. The insects mainly visit in the middle of the afternoon. The flowers change color from red to blue. Bees learn very quickly that only the pink flowers are rich in nectar. Wild bee: More than 40 different species of wild bee collect pollen from the viper's bugloss. Some of them are particularly dependent on the pollen of borage plants and therefore only collect from these. (see Paul Westrich wildbienen.info) The viper's bugloss mason bee (Osmia adunca), for example, is dependent on the presence of Viper's bugloss is dependent on it, the larval provisions consist exclusively of the pollen of the Viper's bugloss. Bumblebee: An absolute top bumblebee plant. Very valuable for the most diverse species of bumblebee. Constantly visited. Butterfly: Over 40 different species of butterfly have been seen on the Viper's bugloss! In addition to providing nectar for the butterflies, it is also an interesting food plant for caterpillars! The brassy owl, white tiger moth, and Russian bear eat as caterpillars on the Viper's bugloss. Culinary: It is not widely known that the Viper's bugloss was once a valued food plant (borage plant). The plucked blue flowers are ideal as edible decorations, fresh or dried. The younger leaves can be used in many different ways. In spring salads, as crispy leaves that are fried in dough, as an addition to spinach, in vegetable dishes, soups and the like. Occasional consumption of small amounts is considered harmless. In large quantities, the alkaloids contained are classified as liver toxic. However, the reader should make this decision for themselves. Interesting facts: The name viper's bugloss refers to the flower, which looks like an open mouth, with a split style reminiscent of a snake's tongue. Tips: The rather heavy seeds can be scattered on sunny gravel and pebble surfaces. They germinate reliably, form a rosette of leaves in the first year and flower in the second year, creating a wonderful floral spectacle. With the seeds of a single plant, large wastelands can be transformed into wonderful insect pastures in no time. Perfect for guerrilla gardening. If the fairly reasonable urge to spread becomes too much for you, you can remove the flower heads before the seeds ripen. These cut back flowers usually bloom quite well, thus extending the flowering period. However, many seeds are also produced again. Sources: Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Edible Wild Plants AT Verlag All information on use, culinary arts or suspected medicinal effects are provided without guarantee. The information is purely informative and is not intended to encourage the reader to self-medicate, but rather to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge. Liability with regard to use is excluded. Video contains advertising and product placements. The links are so-called affiliate links. If you buy something through them, we get a small part as commission. Of course, without you paying more for it.