Sheep's bit
Jasione montana
Family · Campanulaceae · Harmless
The pale blue pincushion head that fills sandy banks and schist slopes in summer. It looks like a scabious and is a bellflower relative, which becomes clear when you look closely at a single floret.
Uplands · Scrubland · Pine woods · Dunes and sand
Also known assheep's scabious, blue bonnets
How to tell it
A round head of pale blue flowers, each with five very narrow petals split to the base, and stamens forming a tube in the middle. Narrow, wavy, rough leaves, mostly at the base. A bare stalk at the top.
What it is confused with
Sweet scabious
Sixalix atropurpurea
Both make pincushions. Scabious has larger, ray-like marginal florets and is much bigger; sheep's bit has all florets equal and a small compact head.
Open sheet →What it is for
No use. It is a good indicator of acid, sandy, poor soil, and one of the few blue flowers you find in a summer pine wood.