Cynoglossum officinale Hound's-tongue

A rather local, roughly-hairy perennial with small, drooping, maroon flowers, which occurs on sand dunes and in base-rich grasslands. The foliage contains a number of toxic alkaloids including pyrrolizidine compounds and, interestingly, curare-like alkaloids. It is more or less confined to Gower in West Glamorgan where it is found mostly in coastal dunes.

Native