Scrophularia atrata - Bumble bee plant

Bumble bee plant (Scrophularia atrata) is an evergreen perennial endemic to a short stretch of the Central California coast, its maroon flower spikes a favorite of bumble bees and butterflies. The plant’s iridoid glycosides make it unpalatable, so it is not eaten. It grows 1-1.5 m tall and 0.5-1 m wide.¹

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 8¹
• Hardiness zone 9¹
• Hardiness zone 10¹
• Full sun¹
• Semi-shade¹
• Well drained soil¹

Type

• Herb¹
• Perennial¹
• Evergreen¹

Functions

• Fire resistance²
• Attracting beneficial insects¹
• Wildlife habitat¹

Dimension	At maturity
Height (m)	1-1.5
Diameter (m)	0.5-1

Footnotes

1. Scrophularia atrata, Bumble Bee Plant | Las Pilitas Nursery Native Plant Database ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Leaf burn times of California native plants, Las Pilitas Nursery, 2005 propane-torch ignition trial, live-leaf ignition time >60 seconds ↩