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Blue Field Madder Sherardia arvensis |
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 © 2020-2025 Adrian Briggs |
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Blue Field Madder is a native annual plant of the UK, typically found growing in cropland, roadsides and waste ground, to a mature height of up to 40cm. Blue Field Madder is a trailing plant, with whorls of oval-pointed leaves, and looks similar to the bedstraws, which belongs to the same plant family. Despite the name 'Blue', the flowers are actually more of a pale pink to lilac colour. This is reflected in the colour 'Madder Blue', which is not a true blue but more of a lilac-grey, close to the colour of the flower. To add to the confusion, the roots of Blue Madder, like those of Common Madder, can be used to make natural orangey-red dyes. Botanic classification and naming: Blue Field Madder is a member of the Madder (Rubiaceae) family. The genus name 'Sherardia' identifies the plant as a Field Madder and its species name 'arvensis' means 'field plant'. |
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