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This spring month of May we can see the viborera flowers. The typical one is blue and violet, but, surprise!, there are also light pink ones, as I show in La Vanguardia Readers’ Photos.
Until now I had not had the opportunity to see it in this pink color, I was unaware that there was this tone. Normally those with a characteristic red-violet color predominate,
Talking about the colors of the snake is not something trivial, but it is very important. Because? Well, because these flowers are honey-bearing, and produce a large amount of nectar. For this reason, they are highly visited by bees, essential for pollination. And it is believed that they are attracted by the color of the snake, which produces ultraviolet reflections.
The name viperera comes from the Greek (Ekios, which means viper). This is because it has always been believed that this flower resembles this snake, based on the Sign Theory, because the nuculas, inflorescences and spots of the plant were reminiscent of those of a viper.
It was even traditionally believed that it counteracted the effects of this snake’s bite, which is actually wrong. Echium Vulgare is the scientific name attributed to the viperera, also called viperina. And even ox tongue or wild cow tongue due to the roughness of its stems.
The stems, unlike the leaves, are not toxic, so they can be consumed once peeled to remove the hairiness; The root was used as dyer due to its tannin content; In traditional medicine, the infusion of dried leaves was used for its diuretic and sweating properties (but now that its toxicity is known, it has fallen into disuse); and the flowers were applied in poultices to treat skin infections and as masks for sensitive skin.
