Devil's-bit Scabious - Succisa pratensis
Irish name - Ura Bhallach
Teasel family - Dipsacaceae
This perennial herb produces beautiful flowers from August to October, which shed their seed a month later. The tall-stalked, rounded flower heads are blue-purple (sometimes with purplish blotches) and pincushion-like. The plant produces low-growing rosettes of narrow leaves covered with minute hairs.
Devil’s-bit Scabious is a member of the teasel family. It has a preference for damp or moist sites and inhabits marshes, wet meadows and moist woodland rides. It exploits sites where other species are restricted by low soil fertility or grazing.
Although Devil’s-bit Scabious has declined somewhat, it remains common and widespread throughout Northern Ireland. The flowers have both male and female organs and are pollinated by bees, moths and butterflies. It is the main foodplant of the Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia), a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP). The butterfly lays its eggs in large batches and the caterpillars live as a group inside a conspicuous silken web.
Devil’s-bit Scabious gets its common name because its roots stop abruptly as if they have been bitten off. The plant was used to cure almost anything, so the Devil got angry with it. He bit off the root out of spite. However, the herb makes a useful tea for the treatment of coughs, fevers and internal inflammations and is also a popular application externally to eczema.
Propagation
From seed
This is an easy plant to grow from seed and will spread quickly. Allow seedheads to dry on plants before removing and collecting the seeds. Sow in April in a cold frame. Germination is usually rapid, but the seedlings are prone to damping off so make sure they are well ventilated. Prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out in late summer.
By division
Propagate by division in spring.
The following grow in similar habitats (alphabetical by common name)
- Bladder Campion
- Common Dog Violet
- Cuckooflower
- Field Scabious
- Goat's-beard
- Harebell
- Knapweed
- Lady's Bedstraw
- Ox-eye Daisy
- Primrose
- Self-heal
- Teasel
- Yarrow
Permission from the landowner - and, if the site holds any kind of designation, from Northern Ireland Environment Agency too - must be sought before collecting plant material (including seeds).