Anchusa arvensis
Tracheophyta
›Magnoliopsida›Boraginaceae›Anchusa›Anchusa arvensis
Ecology
This annual weed is mostly found on well-drained soils in arable fields, but it also occurs near the sea on sandy heaths, in disturbed dunes and on waste ground. Lowland, but with a casual record at 420 m near Ballater (S. Aberdeen).
Status
Archaeophyte
Trends
A. arvensis was mapped as `all records` in the 1962 Atlas, and analysis of the database reveals that most of the losses have occurred since 1950. The main cause has been agricultural intensification, including the increased use of herbicides.
World Distribution
As an archaeophyte A. arvensis has a Eurosiberian Temperate distribution; it is widely naturalised outside this range.
© G. Toone, IWNHAS
Kern Farm
© G. Toone, IWNHAS
Kern Farm
© G. Toone, IWNHAS
Kern Farm
© G. Toone, IWNHAS
SZ468811, Bucks Farm
© M. Cotterill, IWNHAS
SZ468811, Bucks Farm
© M. Cotterill, IWNHAS
SZ468811, Bucks Farm
© M. Cotterill, IWNHAS
SZ468811, Bucks Farm
© M. Cotterill, IWNHAS
SZ468811, Bucks Farm
© M. Cotterill, IWNHAS
SZ468811, Bucks Farm
© M. Cotterill, IWNHAS
Broad Habitats
Arable and horticultural (includes orchards, excludes domestic gardens)
Light (Ellenberg): 7
Moisture (Ellenberg): 4
Reaction (Ellenberg): 6
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 5
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.7
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 15
Annual Precipitation (mm): 874
Height (cm): 50
Perennation - primary
Annual
Perennation - secondary
Biennial, including monocarpic perennials
Life Form - primary
Therophyte (annual land plant)
Life Form - secondary
Hemicryptophyte
Woodiness
Herbaceous
Clonality - primary
Little or no vegetative spread
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 1514
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 75
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 13
Atlas Change Index: -0.7
Weighted Changed Factor: -2
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
21
JNCC Designations
NHMSYS0000455907
Comment on Life Form