Blue thistle – description, flowering period and general distribution in Ontario. young plant

Blue thistle – description, flowering period and general distribution in Ontario. covered with prickly setae with an admixture of small whitish-gray villi

Blue thistle – description, flowering period and general distribution in Ontario. lonely bush

Blue thistle – description, flowering period and general distribution in Ontario. sky blue flowers

Blue thistle – description, flowering period and general distribution in Ontario. Flowering plant - a very valuable honey plant

Common name:

Blue thistle

Scientific name:

Echium vulgare.

Other common name(s):

Viper's bugloss, Blueweed, Blue thistle.

Life form:

Forb, Herb.

Flowering time:

41 days.

Flowering period

in Ontario for this plant is: June ↔ August.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:

300–1,000 pounds honey/acre

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:

Major

General distribution:

Echium vulgare — known as viper's bugloss and blueweed — is a species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae. It is native to most of Europe, and western and central Asia and it occurs as an introduced species in North America.

Map of distribution and habitat in Canada

This plant is present in at least 52 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

It is a biennial or monocarpic perennial plant growing to 30–80 cm tall, with rough, hairy, oblanceolate leaves. The flowers start pink and turn vivid blue and are 15–20 mm in a branched spike, with all the stamens protruding. The pollen is blue but the filaments of the stamens remain red, contrasting against the blue flowers.

Seasonal development:

It flowers between June and August.

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List of honey plants that may be blooming now in Ontario

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