Botanical characteristics and harmfulness of the weed viper's bugloss

BORAGINACEAE FAMILY Nutlets are trihedral, rounded-trihedral in cross-section. The apex is pointed and obliquely curved; there is a sharp keel-like ridge on the ventral side that extends into a tooth at the apex. On the dorsal side, the ridge is weakly expressed and reaches only halfway up the nutlet. The base is straight-truncate, representing a flat triangle. The fruit scar is wide, slightly concave, with a deep depression and two small warts, surrounded by a small annular rim with sharpened edges. The surface is rugose-wrinkled, warty, and matte. The color is grayish-brown to dark brown; the warts, fruit scar, and annular rim are lighter. Length 2.5–3.5 mm, width 1.5–2.25 mm, thickness 1.25–1.75 mm. It infests crops of cereal crops, clover, and alfalfa; it grows along roadsides. Distribution: European part (almost everywhere except the Arctic, especially in the chernozem belt regions), Crimea, Caucasus, Western and Eastern Siberia, Central Asia. Toxic properties: The fruits contain the toxic alkaloid echiine, similar to cynoglosssine, which has a curare-like effect. The most frequently encountered weed in plant products.