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Anchusa azurea
Also called Garden Anchusa, Italian Alkanet, Large Blue Alkanet, Garden Alkanet, Garden Bugloss
Anchusa azurea is a bristly, drought-tolerant perennial with bright blue flowers that bees love; it grows best in a sunny, well-drained spot.
Anchusa azurea is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, known by the common names garden anchusa and Italian bugloss (or just "bugloss"). This bristly herbaceous perennial may reach 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and 60 cm (24 in) wide. It has straight lance-shaped leaves and petite tubular flowers about 15 millimeters across with five bright violet-blue petals. These flowers, which typically appear in May–July, are edible and attract bees. This species is native to Europe, western Asia, and eastern Maghreb.
The genus name Anchusa comes from the Greek 'ankousa', which is the name of a root pigment once used for cosmetic purposes.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Anchusa azurea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
