Devil’s bit scabious grows in damp meadows, marshes, riverbanks and woodlands. The flattened and round flowers are blue to purple-pink. It resembles a pin cushion. They bloom from June to October. This is an important food plant for the Marsh Fritillary butterfly. Many other pollinating insects also visit these flowers. In traditional medicine it was used as a treatment for scabies and sores during the bubonic plague.