The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Anchusa'' belongs to the borage

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

(

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

). It includes about 35

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

biennial plant A biennial plant is a flowering plant that, generally in a temperate climate, takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Life cycle In its first year, the biennal plant undergoes primary growth, during which its vegetative structures ...

s and

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s with the general characteristics of the borage family. They are commonly herbaceous. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are simple or undulate, covered with stiff hairs. The small radially symmetrical

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are sapphire blue and retain their colour a long time. The plants show numerous flowers with five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s, united at their bases, and five

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s forming a narrow tube facing upwards. The flowers grow in several axillary cymes, simple or branched, or are clustered at the end. The flowers are much frequented by

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s. The genus ''Anchusa'' is commonly used in trough or

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...

s. The roots of ''Anchusa'' (just like those of ''

Alkanna ''Alkanna'' is a genus of herbaceous plants including about 60 species of the family Boraginaceae. Selected species * '' A. amana'' Rech.f. * '' A. angustifolia'' Sümbül * '' A. areolata'' Boiss. * '' A. attilae'' P.H.D ...

'' and ''

Lithospermum ''Lithospermum'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. The genus is distributed nearly worldwide, but most are native to the Americas and the center of diversity is in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Species are ...

'') contain anchusin (or alkanet-red), a red-brown

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

oid colouring matter. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with chemical formula, formula Carbon, CHydrogen, HChlorine, Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to ...

and

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...

. ''Anchusa'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including ''

Coleophora pennella ''Coleophora pennella'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in most of Europe. The wingspan is . Adults are on wing from June to July. The larvae feed on alkanet (''Anchusa officinalis''), houndstongue (''Cynoglossum officinale'' ...

''.

Taxonomy

There are four subgenera: ''Buglossum'', ''Buglossoides'', ''Buglossellum'' and ''Anchusa''. The first two form one subclade, the other two each a separate subclade. The subclade of the subgenus ''Anchusa'' (containing ''Anchusa capensis'') is largely unresolved. If we consider ''Anchusa'' s.l., then it includes the subgenus ''Limbata'', which diverges markedly in its floral morphology. The subgenera ''Buglossum'', ''Buglossellum'' and ''Buglossoides'' clearly need new independent entities, while the subgenus ''Anchusa'' needs a narrower concept. This way taxonomy and phylogeny with respect to ''Anchusa'' can become completely analogous. The following genera are synonyms for ''Anchusa'': ''Buglossum'' Mill., ''Hormuzakia'' Gusul, ''Lycopsis'' L. and ''Phyllocara'' Gusul. The genus ''Anchusella'' Bigazzi et al. is sometimes included in ''Anchusa''.

Species

*''

Anchusa aegyptiaca The genus ''Anchusa'' belongs to the borage family (Boraginaceae). It includes about 35 species found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of annual plants, bie ...

'' (L.) A. DC. *''

Anchusa aggregata The genus ''Anchusa'' belongs to the borage family (Boraginaceae). It includes about 35 species found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of annual plants, bie ...

'' Lehm. *'' Anchusa arvensis'' (L.) M.Bieb.: small bugloss, bugloss, annual bugloss *''

Anchusa atlantica The genus ''Anchusa'' belongs to the borage family (Boraginaceae). It includes about 35 species found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of annual plants, bie ...

'' Ball *''

Anchusa aucheri The genus ''Anchusa'' belongs to the borage family (Boraginaceae). It includes about 35 species found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of annual plants, bie ...

'' A. DC. *'' Anchusa azurea'' P.Mill.: Italian bugloss, large blue alkanet *''

Anchusa barrelieri ''Anchusa barrelieri'', Barrelier's bugloss or false alkanet, is a species of plant in the Boraginaceae plant family. It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for the ...

'' (

All. Carlo Allioni (23 September 1728 in Turin – 30 July 1804 in Turin) was an Italian physician and professor of botany at the University of Turin. His most important work was ''Flora Pedemontana, sive enumeratio methodica stirpium indigenarum P ...

) Vitman: Barrelier's bugloss *'' Anchusa caespitosa'' Lam. *'' Anchusa calcarea'' Boiss. *'' Anchusa capellii'' Moris *'' Anchusa capensis'' Thunb.: Cape bugloss, Cape forget-me-not *'' Anchusa cretica'' Miller *''

Anchusa crispa ''Anchusa crispa'' is a species of plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is found in France and Italy. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation and sandy shores. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (als ...

'' Viv. (status vulnerable to endangered in France and Italy) *'' Anchusa davidovii'' Stoj. *'' Anchusa formosa'' sp. nov.: (Sardinia) *'' Anchusa gmelinii'' Ledeb. *'' Anchusa hispida'' Forsskål *'' Anchusa hybrida'' Ten. *'' Anchusa italica'' Retz. *'' Anchusa leptophylla'' Roemer & Schultes *'' Anchusa leucantha'' sp. nov. (Greece) *'' Anchusa littorea'' Moris *'' Anchusa macedonica'' Degen & Dörfler *'' Anchusa mairei'' Gusuleac *'' Anchusa milleri'' Sprengel *'' Anchusa ochroleuca'' M.Bieb.: yellow alkanet *''

Anchusa officinalis ''Anchusa officinalis'', commonly known as the common bugloss or alkanet, is a plant species in the genus ''Anchusa''. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per u ...

'' L.: true alkanet, bugloss, common bugloss, corn bugloss, field bugloss (type species) ** ''A. officinalis'' L. ssp. ''intacta'' (Griseb.) Selvi & Bigazz *'' Anchusa ovata'' Lehm. *'' Anchusa procera'' Besser *'' Anchusa pseudogranatensis'' (Br.-Bl. & Maire) Sennen & Mauricio *'' Anchusa puechii'' Valdés *'' Anchusa pusilla'' Gusuleac *'' Anchusa samothracica'' *'' Anchusa sartorii'' Gusuleac *'' Anchusa sempervirens'': evergreen alkanet *'' Anchusa spruneri'' Boiss. *''

Anchusa strigosa ''Anchusa strigosa'' is a non-succulent species of herbaceous plants in the Boraginaceae family endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean regions, particularly, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Iran. It is known widely by its common names ...

'' Banks & Sol. *'' Anchusa stylosa'' M.Bieb. ** ''A. stylosa'' M.Bieb. ssp. ''spruneri'' (Boiss.) Selvi & Bigazzi *'' Anchusa subglabra'' A. Caballero *'' Anchusa thessala'' *'' Anchusa tiberiadis'' Post *'' Anchusa undulata'' L. ** ''A. undulata'' subsp. ''granatensis'' (Boiss.) Valdés ** ''A. undulata'' subsp. ''lamprocarpa'' Br.-Bl. & Maire ** ''A. undulata'' subsp. ''viciosoi'' Laínz ** ''A. undulata'' ssp. ''sartorii'' (Gu ul.) Selvi & Bigazzi *'' Anchusa variegata'' (L.) Lehm. *'' Anchusa velenovskii'' (Gusuleac) Stoj.

References

"Molecular Systematics of Boraginaceae Tribe Boragineae Based on ITS1 and trnL Sequences, with Special Reference to ''Anchusa'' s.l.; Hilger et al.". ''Annals of Botany''. 2004; 94: 201-212.
{{Taxonbar , from=Q27946 Boraginaceae genera