Blue-weed

On our weekend hike along Stoney Swamp Trail, there were portions of the trail that led through sunny meadows of wildflowers. One of the blooms we spotted was this blue-weed, also known as Echium vulgare, a European medicinal plant naturalized in North America.

Note: Thanks M. for pointing out that this plant is also known as Viper's bugloss, which is a much more interesting name for it, don't you think? After learning this, I did some additional reading and apparently in earlier times they thought that the flower was shaped like a snake's open mouth and therefore would be helpful in snake bites.