I was intrigued to see drifts of blue flowers of a species unknown to me in a large cornfield earlier today. For one thing the field has not been sprayed which is unusual. There were also a good many Ox-eye Daisies, Poppies and other 'arable weeds' which would not have survived being doused in herbicides.

 These are native wildflowers but what could that haze of blue be? On closer inspection I think it's Echium vulgare. The bristly biennial Viper's Bugloss is another one of our native species but this appears to be the annual Echium 'Blue Bedder' which is not native. Confusingly the two distinctly different plants are both referred to as Echium vulgare and as Viper's Bugloss. Common names often overlap but the point of botanical Latin is to differentiate between species.

 I reckon this area was sown with wildflower seed as a set-aside scheme and the mix included the non-native E. vulgare, whether by accident or design I cannot say. I gather it's just as popular with bees and it obviously grows well at this location.