Echiums are known for their cone-like flower-spikes, beloved by bees.
A quick search finds the tallest species, Echium pininana — endemic to the Canary Islands — tends towards 4m in height with the apparent record-holder a paltry 5.5m specimen in Cornwall, England.
At 6m to 7m tall, the Paterson’s Yarmouth St property may not only have the world’s tallest echium, but about 30 of them.
"We had a lot of family here last weekend for our 60th wedding anniversary — we got a card from Charles and Camilla," Mr Paterson said.
"Anyway, our son Alan runs his own horticultural business up in North Canterbury. He couldn’t miss them [the flowers] and ended up telling us he was going to let the Otago Daily Times know about it."
Echiums are biennials, they complete their lifecycle over the course of two years, typically growing and producing leaves in the first year, before flowering, then dying and dispersing seeds in the second year.
Sloping towards the noon sun, the Patersons’ gully garden is loose and rocky but humid and sheltered, although the echium plants weathered recent violent gales without any losses.
"We’ve been living here 18 years and they’ve always been around. They’re just getting noticed because I didn’t spray the ones away from the side of the house this year, so now they’re all over the place," Mr Paterson said.
Echium pininana have no conservation status with the New Zealand Plant Conservation network and the Patersons said they were happy to let "the experts" decide whether their plants were world record breakers.
