Plant Overview
A British native wildflower that works well in the garden. Flowers in June and July.
Good for any damp planting and useful in meadow schemes where a Spring meadow management regime can be applied. The flowers are dusky blue buttons held on stiffly branching stems. Particularly effective en masse. Grows on slightly acid to calcareous soils. A wildflower that can holds its own in the border. Happy in most soils, including damp. Sun or partial shade.
Height: 30-60cm
Common name(s): Devil’s Bit Scabious, Blue Buttons, Angel's Pincushion, Stinking Nancy
History:
Traditionally used to cure plague, fever, freckles and almost anything. The curious common name, Devil’s Bit Scabious has two roots. Scabious derives from the use of the plant to cure skin ailments such as scabies and even those from the bubonic plague, (Scabere is the Latin for scratch). ‘Devil’s Bit’ derives from folk tales of the Devil biting off the short black roots in his anger at the plants medicinal abilities.
Picture: Fornax [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
