This fun Mediterranean native is found growing all over Britain and Europe, completely at home in poor soils and even in stone wall cracks. It thrives in dry conditions and disperses easily by seed. Hence its ubiquity there.
Jupiter’s Beard or Red Valerian (Valeriana or Centranthus rubra) has several colorful common names. How it got the moniker Jupiter’s Beard is a mystery, but in mythology Jupiter is sometimes portrayed with a red beard, and this flower does come in a muted brick red. One can only speculate.