Cynoglossum creticumMill. - Blue Hound's Tongue
Scientific Description:
Biennial, 20−80 cm. Stem villous to tomentose, ± stout, erect, simple. Leaves greyish, pubescent to tomentose, basal with lamina elliptic to narrowly lanceolate, (5−)9−12(−16) × (l−)1.5−3.5(−4) cm, petiole to 1.5 cm, apex obtuse; lower cauline similar to basal, sessile, and upper much smaller, apex subacute, base amplexicaul. Cymes ebracteate. Calyx villous, 6−8 mm in flower, to 12 mm in fruit. Corolla pink or whitish, becoming pale blue with deep blue reticulate venation, 8−9 mm, shortly campanulate to infundibular, scales subquadrate. Nutlets c. 6 mm, immarginate, ovoid to depressed-globose, densely and evenly glochidiate, with tubercles between glochids on dorsal surface.
Flowering time: March−July.
Habitat: Phrygana, limestone and marly slopes, sandy cliffs, shady banks, roadsides, waste places, s.l.−1000 m.
Reference:
Riedl H (1978). Cynoglossum creticum Mill., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 6: 308.
Public Description:
Cynoglossum creticum, common name “blue hound’s tongue”, is a biennial flowering plant native to the Mediterranean Basin. Its flowers are pink or whitish, becoming pale blue with deep blue reticulate venation. Its leaves are toxic to livestock (e.g. cattle and horses), and while animals usually avoid it in the field, poisoning can occur when they are fed hay or chopped forage containing the plant. The burrs can also become attached to the hides of cattle, causing skin irritation.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2015). http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/Cynoglossum_creticum.htm, Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Anonymous 2 (2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynoglossum_creticum/, Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Anonymous 3 (2015). http://www.tubives.com/index.php?sayfa=1&tax_id=6518/, Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Körüklü ST (2012). Cynoglossum L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 226.