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Succisa pratensis
Also called Devil's Bit, Devilsbit, Marsh Devil's Bit, Premorse
Devil's-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) is a hardy perennial wildflower of damp meadows, heaths and grassland across Europe and western Asia, usually grown outdoors. It is grown from seed or division and does best in moist, lightly fertile soil in full sun to part shade.
Succisa pratensis, known as devil's-bit scabious or simply devil's-bit, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, formerly included in the teasel family Dipsacaceae. It is common throughout northern Europe and western Asia in heathland, unimproved damp grassland and chalk or limestone grassland, where it is restricted to nutrient-poor soils. It has decreased somewhat due to agricultural intensification in many areas, but remains widespread and even common throughout its range. Its name derives from the curiously truncated root, which in ancient times was thought to be associated with magical or medicinal properties.
Devil's-bit scabious is common throughout most of the British Isles, western and central Europe, extending eastwards into central Asia, and it has been introduced to eastern North America. It occurs from sea level to high mountain pastures, growing as high as 2,400 m in Hungary.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Succisa pratensis 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.
