A purple field
AW (Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:04:19 PDT)

Dear Diane,

As I replied to John Grimshaw, I did not know of any echiums that were this
height. Several species growing in California are over 6 feet. I looked up
weeds in Australia just now and came across Echium plantagineum (Patterson's
curse). I don't know it but it is desceribed as an 'Erect annual herb to 60
(rarely to 150) cm high'. I'm not disagreeing with you although the plants I
saw were much lower than this. Maybe there is another, smaller species.

Andrew

From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]
On Behalf Of Diane Whitehead

My first thought was Echium, Patterson's Curse, which grows in such great
swaths in Western Australia that it can probably be seen from space.

I saw scattered plants of it in the Eastern Cape in January. I think if it
had taken over fields there, then it would be well known to wildflower
guides, but our two guides did not seem unduly disturbed by
it. I warned them of what it had done in Australia.

Diane Whitehead