Hound's Tongue blooming in the Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, UtahHound’s Tongue blooming in the Wasatch Mountains – Nikon D500, f10, 1/1600, ISO 640, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Hound’s Tongue is considered a noxious weed in Utah. Although it is labeled a noxious weed I think blooming Hound’s Tongue is pretty. I photographed this flowering Hound’s Tongue high in the Wasatch Mountains last week while I was up there looking for birds.

Hound’s Tongue (Cynoglossum officinale) is an introduced herbaceous plant that is part of the Borage (Boraginaceae) family. It is originally from Europe and it has naturalized in many areas of North America. Other names for this wildflower include Houndstongue, Hounds-tongue, Dog’s Tongue, Gypsy Flower, Gypsyflower, Beggars-lice, Dogbur, and Woolmat.

Flowering Hound's Tongue, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, UtahFlowering Hound’s Tongue – Nikon D500, f10, 1/2500, ISO 640, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

Me? I like the dusky rose-pink and purple colors of the flowers, the fuzzy leaves and stems and the fiddlehead arrangement of the flowers at this time of the year. I’ve read that the plant doesn’t smell too good but I’ve never been close enough to it to know. I do know that it is toxic to livestock.

This flowering plant is just one of many nonnative wildflowers that I find while I am out in the field looking for birds to photograph.

Life is good.

Mia

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DESCRIPTION: Hound’s Tongue is a 1 to 4 foot tall biennial. Basal leaves are about 3 inches wide with a hairy surface. Upper leaves are narrower, about 1 inch wide and have a curled appearance and partially clasp the stem. Small reddish purple flowers form in the upper portions of the plant along stems borne in leaf axils. Each flower produces four green, bur-like fruits that turn brown as they mature. Bloom is in early summer.