Appearance
"Echium plantagineum" is a winter annual plant growing to 20–60 cm tall, with rough, hairy, lanceolate leaves up to 14 cm long. The flowers are purple, 15–20 mm long, with all the stamens protruding, and borne on a branched spike.
Naming
"Echnium plantagineum" has become an invasive species in Australia, where it is also known as Salvation Jane, blueweed, Lady Campbell weed, Paterson's Curse and Riverina bluebell.In the United States, the species has become naturalised in parts of California, Oregon, and some eastern states and areas such as northern Michigan. In Oregon it has been declared a noxious weed.
Defense
"Echium plantagineum" contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and is poisonous. When eaten in large quantities, it causes reduced livestock weight and death, in severe cases, due to liver damage. Paterson's curse can also kill horses, and irritate the udders of dairy cows and the skin of humans. After the 2003 Canberra bushfires, a large bloom of the plant occurred on the burned land, and many horses became ill and died from grazing on it. Because the alkaloids can also be found in the nectar of Paterson's curse, the honey made from it should be blended with other honeys to dilute the toxins.References:
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