Plumbago europaea, L.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1972, Flora Europaea. Volume 3. Diapensiacea to Myoporaceae, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 30

1. P. europaea L. , Sp. Pl. 151 (1753) .

Perennial herb; stems 30-100 cm, erect, much-branched. Leaves up to 5-8 x 3- 4-5 cm, the lower long-petiolate, ovate to oblong, cordate, the upper sessile, oblanceolate to lanceolate or linear, acute, auriculate-amplexicaul, glandular-dentate, glabrous, farinose beneath, rarely densely stipitate-glandular. Calyx 5-7 mm, densely stipitate-glandular on ribs, the teeth triangular. Corollatube 1j times as long as calyx, the lobes obovate, violet to lilacpink. Fruit 5-8 mm, oblong to oblong-ovoid. 2n=12. Roadsides, maritime sands and other dry, open habitats. S. Europe. Al Bu Co Cr Ga G r Hs It Ju Lu Rm Sa Si Tu [Cz].

P. auriculata Lam. , Encycl. Méth. Bot. 2: 270 (1786) (P. capensis Thunb.), a shrub native to South Africa, distinguished from 1 by its larger, pale blue corolla c. 25 mm in diameter, is frequently cultivated for ornament in the warmer parts of Europe and is occasionally found as an escape from gardens.