Echium russicum

Echium russicum is a very beautiful wild viper's bugloss, a botanical species native to Eastern Europe, with a biennial or perennial growth habit depending on the climate and growing conditions. Its summer flowering is spectacular, with long dense spikes, mostly dark red, composed of a multitude of small old pink and burgundy flowers mixed with white bristles above a basal rosette of hairy and spiny green-grey leaves. It will find a place on slopes, in rockeries, borders, and natural-inspired flower beds. This robust plant tolerates poor and limestone soils, as long as they are properly drained, but requires full sun to thrive.

Echium russicum is a plant with a taproot, from the borage family, native to hot and dry regions of Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, but also Western Asia. This plant forms a dense and compact basal leaf rosette of 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20in) in diameter in the first year, and flowers from the second year onwards. This short-lived perennial disappears after 3 to 4 years but self-seeds spontaneously in light or rocky soil. The green lanceolate and rough leaves are covered with stiff hairs, giving it a greyish appearance. The flowering takes place from May-June to September, with magnificent dark red spikes, 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28in) tall, visible from afar. It is impossible not to notice them, even when surrounded by greenery or dried foliage. This is probably due to the fact that burgundy red buds coexist with fully bloomed flowers in antique pink, alongside faded purple flowers with a burgundy hue. This plant can withstand temperatures which sometimes fall below -10°C (14°F), in well-drained soil, and tolerates drought well.

Echium russicum is used in rockeries, borders, well-drained flower beds, and dry gardens. It can be associated with Damask Nigellas, perennial flax, ammi, sainfoin, alfalfa, annual cornflowers, phacelia, and tuberous vetchling in natural plantings. Combined with stipa tenuissima, it forms a superb contrast on a dry slope in our rockery. This plant also performs well in pots that can be stored during winter. It is remarkably rich in nectar providing this precious source of food for pollinating insects. The honey produced by bees that feed on Echium has sought-after qualities: a beautiful amber colour, a low capacity for crystallization, and a sweet floral fragrance.

In the Middle Ages anti-venom properties were attributed to them due to the resemblance of the stems to snakeskin and the shape of the fruits that look like a viper's head.