viper's bugloss

American  

noun

1. the blueweed.

---

viper's bugloss British  

noun

1. a Eurasian boraginaceous weed, Echium vulgare, having blue flowers and pink buds Also called (US) blueweed See Paterson's curse See also echium

---

Etymology

Origin of viper's bugloss

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

The white was ox-eye daisies, bladder campion and wild carrot, with spires of bright blue from viper's bugloss.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

The medicinal garden is one of eight discrete beds in the Bonnefont Cloister garden, where Montefusco and his gardeners grow such beguiling medieval herbs as viper’s bugloss, self-heal, cow-cockle and restharrow.

From Washington Post • Jun. 9, 2020

One of these includes the forget-me-nots, the borage, the alkanet, and the viper's bugloss, which keep up this blue as a family heirloom.

From The Naturalist on the Thames by Cornish, C. J. (Charles John)

Upon the platform, which I was able to reach by means of ladders and the half-ruinous spiral staircase, viper's bugloss spread its brilliant blue flowers over the dark stones, and enticed the high-soaring bees.

From Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine by Barker, Edward Harrison

Here were the thorn-apple, chenopodium, sow-thistle, wild mustard, redweed, viper's bugloss, and others, both native and introduced, in dense thickets five or six feet high.

From Far Away and Long Ago by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)