Blueweed-Echium vulgare L.-Poisonous plant

Blueweed

General poisoning notes:

Blueweed (Echium vulgare) is a naturalized biennial herb found in fields and waste places across Canada. The bristly hairs on this plant cause skin irritation. There is no mention of whether the irritation is purely mechanical or whether it is caused by chemicals in the hairs on the leaves and stems. This plant may also contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids including heliosupine (Cheeke 1989, Cooper and Johnson 1984). Poisoning by this plant has not been reported. Purple bugloss (Echium lycopsis L. = Echium plantagineum L.) has been collected in Canada on a couple of occasions, but it does not persist. This species does contain several pyrrolizidine alkaloids, including echimidine, echiumine, and heliotrine. The plant has caused death of horses and liver damage of sheep in Australia (Cooper and Johnson 1984, Cheeke 1989). Lampe and McCann (1985) discuss toxicity of both species to humans after ingestion of herbal teas containing Echium spp. Chronic consumption can cause veno-occlusive disease of the liver (Budd-Chiari syndrome), with hepatic vein thrombosis leading to cirrhosis. Purple bugloss (Echium lycopsis), which is discussed above, contains chemicals that can cause this type of problem. However, it does not appear to persist in Canada. There is no information in the literature on blueweed causing such poisoning, but it may contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (Cheeke 1989). Caution is obviously warranted. Teas containing either of these plants should not be used by humans.

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Echium vulgare L.

Vernacular name(s): blueweed

Scientific family name: Boraginaceae

Vernacular family name: borage

Geographic Information

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan

Notes on Poisonous plant parts:

The bristly hairs covering the stem and leaves produce severe inflammation when they break off and become imbedded in the skin (Muenscher 1975).

Toxic parts:

Hairs

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

Cheeke (1989) mentions that blueweed contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, but no further information is given. Another member of the genus (Echium lycopsis) contains several alkaloids that have caused poisoning of animals in Australia.

Toxic plant chemicals:

unknown chemical

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Humans

General symptoms of poisoning:

Itchiness

Notes on poisoning:

The hairs on blueweed cause intense itchiness and skin irritation (Muenscher 1975).