Viper’s Bugloss
Echium vulgare
Family: Boraginaceae
Herbaceous perennial. Native to Europe, the Ural Mountains and
Siberia. Growing in dry and gravelly places, the hairy-stemmed “Ox’s
Tongue” bears bright blue, tubular flowers from summer to frost. The leaves
were used in old English herbalism as a tea, used for treating the bites
of poisonous snakes and for driving out poisons from the blood. Like
Borage, the tea is used to strengthen the heart and give courage. Cultivation:
Light-dependent germinator. Press into surface of garden bed in the spring
or early summer, or use a flat or pot. Keep moist. Space plants
2 feet apart. Flowers to 2 to 3 feet.
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