Echium candicans

Echium candicans (syn.fastuosum) is a very beautiful wild viper's bugloss, a botanical species of great beauty, native to the island of Madeira. Its spring to summer flowering is spectacular, in the form of long blue dense spikes, composed of a multitude of small, white to sapphire blue and blue-violet flowers, mixed with white bristles. Above a large tuft covered with grey-green foliage and bristles, a cloud of pollinators wil tirelessly flutter, indifferent to the sweltering heat. It will find a place in embankments, rockeries, borders, and natural-inspired flower beds in regions without severe frosts.

Echium candicans is a shrubby plant with soft wood and a taproot from the family Boraginaceae, native to Madeira, off the coast of Portugal. This plant forms a large, dense bush the first year, 1.50m (5ft) tall and 2.50m (8ft) to 3m (10ft) wide, and blooms from the second or third year. This short-lived perennial disappears after 5 to 7 years but self-seeds in light or rocky soil. The grey-green curly, lanceolate foliage with reddish tips, is covered with stiff hairs that give it a greyish appearance and can sometimes be irritating to the skin. The leaves are gathered in large rosettes at the ends of the branches. Flowering takes place from March to May-June (depending on the climate), in the form of magnificent blue spikes, 20 to 50cm (8 to 20in) long, standing above the foliage and visible from afar. It is impossible not to notice them, even when surrounded by greenery or dried foliage. This is probably because the tiny 12mm (1in) diameter flowers adopt different shades ranging from white to violet and are enhanced by pink to crimson stamens. This plant can withstand temperatures slightly below -2°C (28.4°F), in perfectly drained soil, and tolerates drought well.

Madeiran viper's bugloss is a robust plant in mild climates and by the sea. It tolerates sea spray and poor and chalky soils, as long as they are properly drained, but requires full sun to thrive. It is used in large rockeries, well-drained flower beds, and dry gardens. It can be associated in natural areas with Damask Nigella, perennial flax, ammi, sainfoin, alfalfa, annual cornflowers, phacelia, and tuberous vetch. Paired with red or blue shrubby salvias, Salvia leucantha, Aloe arborescens, and Ebenus cretica with their pink and fluffy spikes, on a dry slope in a rockery, it forms a superb combination. This plant also performs well in a very large pot that can be stored away in winter. It is remarkably rich in nectar and will continuously produce nectar, providing a precious source of food for pollinators. Echium honey has sought-after qualities; a beautiful amber colour, a low tendency to crystallize, and a sweet, floral fragrance.

In the Middle Ages, proponents of the doctrine of signatures attributed anti-venom properties to Echium due to the stems' remblance to snakeskin, and the fruits resembling a viper's head.