Topic: ID Please

[GRACELAND]

 

Bought a wild seed mix  and have alot of  this (see picture)

ID  please  The bees love it   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/95822767@N06/9284551836/" title="P1240016 by GRACELAND13, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3798/9284551836_30166f71d5.jpg" width="500" height="377" alt="P1240016">[/url]

[GRACELAND]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/95822767@N06/9284553890/" title="P1240015 by GRACELAND13, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/9284553890_10af56a2db.jpg" width="500" height="377" alt="P1240015">[/url]


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/95822767@N06/9281774079/" title="P1240014 by GRACELAND13, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3698/9281774079_284a1f78ae.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P1240014">[/url]

[Flighty]

It's phacelia tanacetifolia which I grow grow for the flowers which the bees love. It's also used as a green manure.
It's common name is Fiddle Neck, and have a look at what Chiltern Seeds say about it -
http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item.php?id=977A

[goodlife]

it is Phacelia..commonly sold as green manure crop. It flowers are proper bee magnets and if you let them to seed..some will pop up again next year 

[GRACELAND]

Thank you   

[caroline7758]

I bought a cheap box of seed from Home Bargains which called itself a blue mix. It turned out to be nearly all phacelia. Fortunately I love phacelia and often use it as a green manure as mentioned.

[GRACELAND]

Snap lol   i bought  the blue mix from the pound shop    Nearly  all this  lol   But  it is nice and the bees love it   

[Digeroo]

I love it too.   I thought its common name was Scorpionweed.   

I have grown it for many years but suddenly this year I seem to have got a very nasty rash on the backs of my hands, and I am worried it is due to the scorpionweed, which is growing amongst my strawberries.  I pulled a few weeds from between the plants.

[Flighty]

Digeroo that's another common name for it.
Re the rash have a look at this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phacelia

[Digeroo]

I thought it was called scorpionweed because of the curl of the flower was like the tail of the scorpion.  I had no idea it could cause a rash.

Be warned folks the rash is awful.  I am wondering if the warmer weather is causing some kind of change in the plant. I have grown it without problem for more than 20 years.

But I am currently suffering very badly, and I could not understand why I had something only on the backs of my hands until I realized I had pulled out fat hen so the palms were protected, only the backs touched the phacelia.

I have been reading more about it and not sure that it is phacelia tanacetifolia which causes the problems but I shall now wear gloves if I get anywhere near it.

[caroline7758]

I hadn't realised it's in the borage family- borage makes my hands sore, but I've never had a problem with phacelia, Having said that I probably handle borage more, as the phacelia just gets dug in.