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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

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Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Large Blue Alkanet (Anchusa azurea) :: 2002/05/04 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos Large Blue Alkanet (Anchusa azurea) :: 2002/05/04 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos Large Blue Alkanet (Anchusa azurea) :: 2002/05/04 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos No image! No image!

Large Blue Alkanet

Anchusa azurea

The Large Blue Alkanet is a rather robust, bristly  perennial, which can reach a height of up to 1.5 m (approx. 5 ft), although it is, more often than not, shorter. Its leaves are long,  lanceolate, 15 - 50mm (3/5 - 2 in) wide.

Flowers are 10 - 20 mm (2/5 - 4/5 in), deep blue or violet, with a white center, borne in a rather lax  paniculate inflorescence.

According to "Plants for a Future", A. azurea is edible. More specifically, flowers can be eaten raw; they can either make an excellent and decorative addition to the salad bowl, or be used as a garnish. The tender young leaves and young flowering shoots can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

The same source states that the whole plant is  antitussive,  depurative,  diaphoretic and  diuretic. It is harvested when in flower and dried for later use. The dried and powdered herb is used as a  poultice to treat inflammations. Internal use should be made with caution, however, as the plant contains the alkaloid cynoglossine, which can have a paralyzing effect. Said alkaloid is used medicinally to relieve pain, it depresses the central nervous system and is also potentially carcinogenic.

Other uses, cited by "Plants for a Future", include the extraction of a red dye from the root, which was, at one time, used as a basis for certain cosmetics.

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Fact Sheet

Type of plant
Robust, bristly perennial

Flowering Season
March - June

Known Hazards
Contains the alkaloid cynoglossine, which can have a paralyzing effect.

Known Uses
Flowers and leaves are edible. The plant is antitussive, depurative, diaphoretic and diuretic and, therefore, has some medicinal uses. Finally, a red dye can be obtained from the root. "Plants for a Future" rate this plant 2 out of 5 for edibility and 1 out of 5 for medicinal use (min. 0, max. 5).

Habitat
Cultivated, fallow and waste ground, open  garrigue, roadsides and olive groves.

Distribution
Throughout the Mediterranean region.


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Taxonomy


Kingdom: Plantae (Plants); Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (Vascular plants); Superdivision: Spermatophyta (Seed plants); Division Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants); Class: Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons); Subclass: Asteridae; Order: Lamiales; Family: Boraginaceae (Borage family); Genus: Anchusa; Species: azurea

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Acknowledgments


Information on the plant's edible and medicinal uses was obtained from "Plants for a Future".

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