''Erinus alpinus'', the fairy foxglove, alpine balsam, starflower, or liver balsam, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as snapdragon and foxglove. It is unrelated to the banana-like fruit also called "plantain." In older cl ...

(previously in the family

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Central and Southern Europe. and also to Morocco and Algeria. It is a semi-

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

chasmophyte This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

with stems of narrow blue-green leaves and clusters of rose-pink flowers at the tips in spring and summer. It is popularly grown in rockeries or

alpine garden An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in ...

s; and it occasionally becomes

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

outside its native range, especially on old stone walls, shown well from a well-known location for this species on the old packhorse bridge at

Carrbridge Carrbridge ( sco, Carrbrig, gd, Drochaid Chàrr) is a village in Badenoch and Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands. It lies off the A9 on the A938, west of Skye of Curr and southeast of Tomatin, near Bogroy. It has the oldest stone bridge in ...

in the Highlands of Scotland It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

In folk belief of Northumberland

Botanist and noted authority on plant-lore

Albert Roy Vickery Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

quotes an informant from the town of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

thus:

Fairy foxglove is a small, purple flower which grows intermittently on stone walls in north-east England. Local tradition says that it only grows where
Roman soldiers This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *''Actuarius ''Actuarius'' or ''actarius'', rendered in Greek as ''aktoua ...
have trod. And certainly it is to be found in the village of
Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
(which is, of course, located near
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
in
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
).Vickery, Roy, ''Oxford Dictionary of Plant Lore'', pub. Oxford University Press 1995 ISBN 0-19-280053-1 entry 'Fairy Foxglove' page 129.

Gallery

File:Erinus alpinus a1.jpg File:ERINUS ALPINUS - BÒFIA - IB-404 (Erinus).jpg,

Solsonès Solsonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of historic county of Urgell Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (c ...

, Catalonia File:Erinus alpinus pyrenees.jpg, With ''Paronychia kapela'' subsp. ''serpyllifolia'', Summit of Piméné, nr.

Gavarnie Gavarnie (; oc, Gavarnia) is a former commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, Southwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Gavarnie-Gèdre.Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

References

Plantaginaceae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Plantaginaceae-stub