Biology

This species appears to behave as an annual in the UK, and is in flower from June to August. It is thought that the plant requires regular disturbance of the soil to maintain its presence at a site. It is also thought that it cannot tolerate too much competition from more vigorous plants. In Europe it grows widely but is declining in western and central parts, is endangered in the Netherlands and vulnerable and rare in Switzerland and Slovakia. On the continent, it is found on a wider range of habitats, stretching from sandy sea shores to dry meadows and rocky places inland as well as waste places and cultivated land.