Cynoglossum officinale L.

Coarse, single-stemmed biennial 3–12 dm, leafy to the top, villous or villous-hirsute; lowest lvs oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, 1–3 dm overall, 2–5 cm wide, the others sessile and more oblong or lanceolate, numerous, gradually reduced; infl of numerous false racemes in the upper axils or on short axillary branches, the mature pedicels curved-spreading; cal at anthesis 3–5 mm; cor dull reddish-purple, nearly salverform, the limb 1 cm wide or a little less, the fornices exsert; nutlets 5–7 mm, ovate, descending-spreading, forming a broadly low-pyramidal fr, remaining attached to the style after splitting from the gynobase, the dorsal surface flattened, surrounded by a raised margin; 2n=24. Native of Eurasia, established as a weed in fields, meadows, and open woods throughout our range and westward.

It is a temperate plant. It grows in dry fields and waste places. It needs moist, well-drained soil. It can grow in sun or part shade.

The young leaves are used as a salad or cooked as a vegetable. They should only ever be eaten in small amounts. Caution: Some hesitancy has been raised about the alkaloids in this plant that can cause cancer.

Plants are grown from seed. They can also be grown from cuttings.