Echium candicans
Encyclopedia
Echium candicans commonly known as Pride of Madeira, is a large biennial
or more commonly perennial
members of the Echium
genus.
It is endemic to the island of Madeira
.
In the first year after germination the plant produces a broad rosette of leaves. In the second and subsequent years more or less woody flowering stalks are produces clothed in rough leaves. The flower head is large and covered with blue flowers having red stamen
s. The flowers are much visited by honey bee
s and the honey
from such visits is prized for its flavour.
trade and widely available throughout the world as an ornamental plant
for traditional and drought tolerant water conserving garden
s.
In New Zealand
it is a common garden escape onto road-side verges and shingle
banks in northern South Island (and probably elsewhere).
In the state of Victoria, Australia, it is considered to be a high weed risk and an alert has been posted by the Department of Primary Industries.
Biennial plant
A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
or more commonly perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
members of the Echium
Echium
Echium is a genus of 60 species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae.The type species is Echium vulgare, viper's bugloss. Species of Echium are native to North Africa, Europe, Madeira and the Canary Islands, but have also become invasive in southern Africa and Australia...
genus.
It is endemic to the island of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
In the first year after germination the plant produces a broad rosette of leaves. In the second and subsequent years more or less woody flowering stalks are produces clothed in rough leaves. The flower head is large and covered with blue flowers having red stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s. The flowers are much visited by honey bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s and the honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
from such visits is prized for its flavour.
Cultivation
Echium candicans is cultivated in the horticultureHorticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
trade and widely available throughout the world as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for traditional and drought tolerant water conserving garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s.
In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
it is a common garden escape onto road-side verges and shingle
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
banks in northern South Island (and probably elsewhere).
In the state of Victoria, Australia, it is considered to be a high weed risk and an alert has been posted by the Department of Primary Industries.