| Common Name: | Common Bugloss |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: | Anchusa |
| Species: | officinalis |
| Classification/Rank: | |
| Method of Transportation: | Spread when seeds are eaten by animals and when seed-bearing stalks are tumbled in the wind. Vehicles, animal and human feet, redistribution of soils and gravels, and contaminated hay also spread the seeds. |
| Habitat/Range: | prefers dry, sandy to gravelly soils. It is found on roadsides, dry fields, pastures, and disturbed areas. |
a.k.a. Common Alkanet is a biennial or perennial which has fleshy, hairy leaves that grow smaller in size towards the top of the stem. Flower stems, initially coiled like fiddleheads, straighten out as each bud opens. Deep purple to blue flowers with white centres produce four nut-like seeds each. Mature plants grow to 0.8 m and have a long taproot. Average seed production is in excess of 900 seeds per plant.
It has not been reported in the NWIPC area yet, with the largest infestations occurring in the south Okanagan and Keremeos areas.
Land owners and managers have long recognized the need to control invasive plants to limit their impacts. In May 2018, a new smartphone app...
Bioagents are one tool in the fight against invasive plants, and they are intensly studied before release to ensure they won't switch to...
