Scorpian weed is an annual widely used in Europe, and is gaining traction in the US, with feathery leaves and fiddle-head clusters of purple blooms that make it very attractive to pollinators. It is often used in the seed mix of a cover crop. It propagates easily from seed, just sow directly on top of the soil after the last frost. Scratching the seed coat and soaking overnight can improve germination rates. Because it self-seeds so easily it can become weedy in certain areas. However, its beneficial characteristics of being an attractive pollinator plant often outway its weedy tendencies as it is easy to till back into the soil adding nitrogen. It has a taproot and dense fibrous roots as well. It is drought tolerant, prefers full sun, and withstands sandy or rocky soil. It will suffer in waterlogged conditions. It is winter hardy to 18 degrees F.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Sand; Shallow Rocky
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Fine
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Oblong; Ovate; Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Dentate; Lobed
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Fern-like leaves variable sizes up to 8" bipinnatifid oblong to ovate compound divided into leaflets with toothed lobes.
Flower color
Blue; Purple/Lavender
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower shape
Bell
Flower detail
Early to late spring and into the summer dense clusters of dusty purple-blue flowers open sequentially on fiddle-head shaped stems. There are 5 fuzzy sepals and the bell-shaped flowers have a fused corolla center parts of the flowers, darker purple stamens and styles stick out beyond the petals.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit detail
Two brown wrinkled seeds are produced in the ovoid fruit. Seeds drop to the ground when the fruit is mature.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Erect, or semi-erect, glandular with short stiff hairs, succulent
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
California to Mexico
Wildlife value
Flowers attract bees and other pollinators. It provides high-quality nectar and pollen. It also supports beneficial predators and parasitoids.