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Viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare)

Viper's Bugloss is a weed of pastures, crops and disturbed sites in several Australian states and territories. It can compete with pasture and grassland vegetation, and its pyrrolizidine alkaloids may poison livestock.

Key facts

Type: Weed, herb.

Native to: Europe and temperate Asia.

Established in: NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA.

Other names: Common Viper's Bugloss.

Best time to act: Look for and treat plants during their spring and summer flowering period, with early-season control and mowing at the bud stage helping to reduce seed set.

Identification

  • It is a biennial, or sometimes annual, herb that grows up to 120 cm high.
  • Its narrow leaves are hairy, and the rosette leaves have a pimple-like appearance on their upper surfaces.
  • Upright stems are covered in coarse and finer hairs, which can irritate skin on contact.
  • Deep-blue, trumpet-shaped flowers grow in clusters on the stems.
  • Its fruit breaks into up to four rough, pale-brown seed-containing segments, each 2 to 3.5 mm long.
  • Look-alike: Paterson's Curse (Echium plantagineum) is usually annual, with broader rosette leaves and more prominent leaf veins; Viper's Bugloss has narrower leaves and a pronounced flower spike.
  • Look-alike: Italian Bugloss (Echium italicum) has pale-yellow or cream flowers, while Lucerne (Medicago sativa) has purple flowers but non-hairy stems and leaves.

Where it grows

In Australia it occurs in roadsides, pastures, crops and disturbed ground, with records from the ACT, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

Why it matters

  • It can compete with desirable pasture and crop species and out-compete pasture and grassland vegetation.
  • It contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and may be toxic or poisonous to livestock.
  • Its hairs can irritate skin when touched.
  • It invades lowland grassland, grassy woodland and dry sclerophyll forest in Victoria, as well as disturbed urban sites such as roadsides, waterways, gardens and parks.

How it spreads

  • It reproduces by seed, which can spread by water, especially in riparian areas and on steep ground where erosion and runoff occur.
  • Contaminated soil, fodder, vehicles and cultivation equipment can carry seed to new sites.
  • Seeds may also spread during roadside maintenance and in contaminated agricultural produce.

Control options

  • Use registered herbicides where suitable; herbicides and cultivation can provide good control in cropping situations.
  • Remove isolated plants manually and burn them if they are flowering or setting seed.
  • Mow early at the bud stage to reduce seed set, then mow again later to control regrowth.
  • Maintain full ground cover with competitive crops or pastures, and use repeated cultivation where appropriate to control late-germinating seedlings.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Clean vehicles and cultivation equipment before moving from infested sites, as these can carry seed.
  • Avoid transporting contaminated soil or fodder to uninfested areas.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Not a priority weed. Not a state or regional priority weed in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Regionally controlled / restricted weed (varies by region). Where it is regionally controlled, landowners must take all reasonable steps to prevent its growth and spread on their land. Where it is a restricted weed, trade in it (including the plant, its seed or contaminated material) is prohibited.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Declared pest (C1), prohibited. C1 Exclusion: to be kept out of WA, or out of the parts of WA where it is not established. Report any sighting to DPIRD. It must not be brought into WA (prohibited organism).
  • Tasmania: Declared weed. Property managers are required by law to control declared weeds, and their import and sale are prohibited.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Declared pest. It is a declared pest throughout the ACT.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board

Sources