Viper's Bugloss (Echium), a genus of plants of the natural order Boragineæ, having a calyx with five deep segments, an almost bell-shaped corolla, with dilated throat, and irregular limb, very long unequal filaments, and a bifid style. The species are large herbaceous plants or shrubs, rough with tubercles and hairs. Their flowers are often very beautiful. The Common Viper's Bugloss (E. vulgare), a large annual plant, is a native of Britain and of most parts of Europe, growing in dry places, not unfrequently in cornfields. Its flowers are at first reddish, and afterwards blue. It derives its name, Viper's Bugloss, from spots on its stem, which somewhat resemble those of the viper; and the property of healing vipers' bites was therefore ascribed to it. Other herbaceous species are found in the south of Europe, North and South America, and other parts of the world. Shrubby species are found chiefly in the Canaries and South Africa.
