About Phyteuma orbiculare L.
Phyteuma orbiculare L. reaches an average height of 20 to 50 centimeters (7.9 to 19.7 inches). It is a deep blue, nearly purple wildflower, and what appears to be a single flower head is actually a cluster of many small individual flowers packed closely together. Its stem is erect, unbranched, hairless, and striated. A single plant produces leaves of varying shapes: larger, broader ovate to lanceolate, serrated leaves with stalks grow at the base of the stem, while smaller, narrower lanceolate to linear leaves grow along the stem. The head-shaped inflorescence is a dense, erect panicle roughly 1.5 to 3 centimeters (0.59 to 1.18 inches) in diameter, and typically holds 15 to 30 individual flowers. The petals are blue or violet-blue, and form small tubes with an opening at the top. The outer bracts are lanceolate, and are usually two to four times longer than they are wide. Its flowering season runs from May to August. The fruit is a capsule that holds many small seeds. This plant is widespread across most of Europe, ranging from the Pyrenees to the Balkans. It occurs at low altitudes in Western Europe, and in mountain areas of Central Europe. In the United Kingdom, it is more common on the South Downs than in any other location. This species grows mainly in grasslands, meadows, pastures, and pine forests. It prefers full sun on calcareous soils, growing at an altitude of 600 to 2,400 meters (2,000 to 7,900 feet) above sea level. In the UK, it grows in chalk grassland.
