Abundant in marshes, pastures, and hedgerows, this little plant is quite unfussy about where it grows and even brightens up many a bog when it flowers from June to October. It's a medium sized perennial with untoothed, deep green, blotchy, oval shaped leaves. Its pretty hemispherical flowerheads are blue-violet, 25mm across with prominent magenta anthers and on long slender stalks. This is a native plant belonging to the family Dipsaceae.
I first identified this plant in Rath, Co Kerry in 1977 and photographed it in Glenmalure, Co Wicklow in 2006.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
