Devil's-bit Scabious

Succisa pratensis, known as devil's-bit scabious or simply devil's-bit, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, formerly included in the teasel family Dipsacaceae. It is common throughout northern Europe and western Asia in heathland, unimproved damp grassland and chalk or limestone grassland, where it is restricted to nutrient-poor soils. It has decreased somewhat due to agricultural intensification in many areas, but remains widespread and even common throughout its range. Its name derives from the curiously truncated root, which in ancient times was thought to be associated with magical or medicinal properties.