PYRAMIDAL BUGLE

Ajuga pyramidalis

Mint / Dead-Nettle Family [Lamiaceae]  

month8apr month8april month8May

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8blue
inner
inner8white
morph
morph8zygo
petals
petalsZ2
type
typeZspiked
stem
stem8square
rarity
rarityZscarce

11th May 2007, Kentmere, Cumbria. Photo: © Jeremy Roberts
Grows up to 30cm, the same as Bugle, but with much hairier bracts (they look like leaves) which are rather pale green but strongly tinged purple.


11th May 2007, Kentmere, Cumbria. Photo: © Jeremy Roberts
The flowers are bisexual and pale blue (sometimes pink or white outside the UK). Unlike Bugle, all the bracts are longer than the flowers (upper bracts shorter on Bugle).


11th May 2007, Kentmere, Cumbria. Photo: © Jeremy Roberts
Flowers have an upper cowl like hood from which the anthers dangle just underneath. Lower lip is in three distinct lobes, the central longer and with a slight nick in the centre.


Not to be semantically confused with : Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) which also has flowers with three downwardly-directed lobes, but they are pink.

Not to be semantically confused with: Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis) or other Buglosses, which belong to a differing family (Borage) (Boraginaceae).

Hybridizes with: Bugle (Ajuga reptans) to produce Ajuga × pseudopyramidalis which occurs near both parents but is itself sterile with intermediate characteristics but with a stolon as does Bugle.

Some similarities to : Bugle (Ajuga reptans), especially to young Bugle, which has the same characteristic compact 'pyramidal' shape and can easily be mistaken for Pyramidal Bugle. But unlike Bugle, Pyramidal Bugle does not have runners (stolons) whilst Pyramidal Bugle has just a rhizome.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature : the flowers are a paler blue than are those of Bugle (Ajuga reptans), also they do not protrude beyond the extremities of the leaves. The leaves are much closer together in Pyramidal Bugle, and the plant has a slight taper towards the top, hence 'pyramidal'. It is a lot hairier than Bugle.

There is possibly only one location of Pyramidal Bugle in England. It is much more frequent in Scotland.


  Ajuga pyramidalis  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Lamiaceae  

Distribution
family8Mint family8Dead-Nettle family8Labiatea family8Lamiaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8ajuga
Ajuga
(Bugles)

PYRAMIDAL BUGLE

Ajuga pyramidalis

Mint / Dead-Nettle Family [Lamiaceae]  

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