Also an echium?

[JennyS]

Following Pete's thread reminded me of an echium (?) I came across in June - but the stems and leaves look different, and most of the flowers on the one I saw were pink rather than blue.... suggestions please!
(sorry about photo quality)

[Tiggrx]

Looks like Viper's-bugloss (Echium vulgare) - though I have never seen one quite so pink. Though as you can see in the left hand picture some of the flowers are becoming more blue.

[JennyS]

Hi Tiggrx - could it be an escaped cultivated form as it was growing very near a big pile of garden clippings etc that had been piled next to the beach?

[Tiggrx]

Originally Posted by JennyS

Hi Tiggrx - could it be an escaped cultivated form as it was growing very near a big pile of garden clippings etc that had been piled next to the beach?

It might be, though it could well be wild. I can't find any reference to a pink garden form of E. vulgare ('Pink Bedder' is often listed as a cultivar of E. vulgare but is in fact E. plantagineum) but it is possible.