Bristly oxtongue
Scientific name: Helminthotheca echioides
Family: Asteraceae
Other common names; Langley beef
Flowering time: June to November
Height: to 1m
Growing conditions: clay soils
Nectar source for: many butterflies and moths
Food source for: many invertebrates
Description
An annual or biennial plant. As its name suggests, it is a plant whose leaves are covered in swollen, blister-like spots. From each blister a little hairy hook emerges, which makes it as rough as ‘an ox’s tongue’.
How to identify: The leaf has long narrow oblong shaped leaves. Each lead has many whitish swollen pimples which are rough and bristly to touch. The plant produces clusters of flowers which can be up to 25mm in diameter. It has a deep taproot.
Family: Asteraceae
Other common names; Langley beef
Flowering time: June to November
Height: to 1m
Growing conditions: clay soils
Nectar source for: many butterflies and moths
Food source for: many invertebrates
Description
An annual or biennial plant. As its name suggests, it is a plant whose leaves are covered in swollen, blister-like spots. From each blister a little hairy hook emerges, which makes it as rough as ‘an ox’s tongue’.
How to identify: The leaf has long narrow oblong shaped leaves. Each lead has many whitish swollen pimples which are rough and bristly to touch. The plant produces clusters of flowers which can be up to 25mm in diameter. It has a deep taproot.