Habitat: Grassy areas with light dry soils. Often seen on cliffs and dunes. Likes sunny sites.
Description: Upright (30cm to 1m) biennial with stalks rising from numerous basal leaves. The flowers (June to August) are pinkish in the bud, but open to a deep blue.Uses:The plant was used as a cure and preventative for snake bite in earlier times. The stem of the plant is speckled and the dead flower-head resembles a snake's head. Herbalists used an infusion of the seeds to drive away sadness and melancholia. It was also said to promote milk flow in nursing mothers and to be effective against lumbago.
Wildlife: The flowers attract bees and Painted Lady Butterflies.
Our plants and seeds are of native British origin.
