Legousia hybrida (L.) Delarbre
Corn Violet
Venus's-looking-glass is a slender annual of cultivated ground, long established in Britain as an archaeophyte rather than a true native. It is a southern English plant, concentrated on the chalk and limestone arable land of the south and east, and absent from most of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
About
Venus's-looking-glass is a slender annual of cultivated ground, long established in Britain as an archaeophyte rather than a true native. It is a southern English plant, concentrated on the chalk and limestone arable land of the south and east, and absent from most of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The wiry, often branched stems carry small, narrow leaves and clusters of distinctive flowers: five-pointed, purple to violet stars that open fully only in bright sunshine, set above an unusually long, ribbed ovary that gives the plant its angular look.
A flower of disturbed ground, it grows at field margins and in arable fields on light, lime-rich soils, depending on cultivation to expose bare earth for its seed. Flowering through early and mid-summer, it is a plant for cornfield annual mixes and conservation headlands alongside species such as corncockle and poppies, helping recreate the diversity once typical of traditional arable land.
Also known as
Venus'-looking-glass · Venus's looking-glass · Venus's-looking-glass
Synonyms
Campanula hybrida · Campanula spuria · Legousia balearica · Legousia conferta · Legousia parviflora · Legousia skvortsovii · Pentagonia hybrida · Prismatocarpus confertus · Prismatocarpus hybridus · Specularia calycina
Beta — under active development. This catalogue is still being built and accuracy-checked. The information here (including plant identifications, British native status, soil and sun/shade preferences) is provided in good faith for general guidance only and may contain errors or omissions. It must not be relied upon on its own — please confirm details with us before making planting, specification, foraging or purchasing decisions, and never eat or medicinally use any plant based on this catalogue alone, as some species are toxic. To the extent permitted by law, Phoenix Amenity Supplies accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of this information.