Purple Viper's Bugloss

Description:

Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: (unplaced) Family: Boraginaceae Genus: Echium Species: E. plantagineum Binomial name Echium plantagineum L.

Habitat:

Echium plantagineum, commonly known as Purple Viper's Bugloss, is a Purple Viper's Bugloss, native to western and southern Europe (from southern England south to Iberia and east to the Crimea), northern Africa, and southwestern Asia (east to Georgia).[1][2] It has also been introduced to Australia, South Africa and United States and is an invasive plant. Due to a high concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the shoot it is poisonous to grazing livestock, especially those with a simple digestive system like horses. The toxins are cumulative in the liver and death results from too much Paterson's curse in the diet.

Notes:

E. plantagineum has become an invasive species in Australia, where it is also known as Paterson's Curse, Patterson's Curse or Salvation Jane (particularly in South Australia). Other names are Blueweed, Lady Campbell Weed or Riverina Bluebell. In the United States the species has become naturalised in parts of California, Oregon and some eastern states.[5] In Oregon it has been declared a noxious weed.[6]