''Andersonglossum'' is a small genus of North American plants in the borage family (

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 ...

). They are commonly called American comfreys, wild comfreys, or hound's tongues.

Taxonomy

Members of this genus were formerly placed in the genus ''

Cynoglossum ''Cynoglossum'' is a genus of small-flowered plants in the family Boraginaceae (borage family). ''Cynoglossum officinale'', the common hound's-tongue, is a native of Asia, Africa, and Europe. It has been introduced into North America, and it is ...

''. They were separated in 2015 from other members of ''Cynoglossum'' by James I. Cohen into the newly named ''Andersonglossum''. Cohen named the genus in honor of William Russell Anderson (1942–2013), American botanist, director of the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

Herbarium, and recipient of the

Asa Gray Award Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

. Of Anderson, Cohen stated: "an incomparable professor, botanist, and person, who inspired me to study plant systematics". The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''

Andersonglossum virginianum ''Andersonglossum virginianum'', known as southern wild comfrey, is a flowering plant in the borage family native to North America. It is also sometimes called blue houndstongue. Formerly placed in the genus ''Cynoglossum'', it was transferred t ...

'' (''Cynoglossum virginianum'' ).

Species

There are three species in ''Andersonglossum'': *'' Andersonglossum boreale'' — northern wild comfrey (Canada, northeastern United States) *'' Andersonglossum occidentale'' — western hound's tongue (California, Oregon) *''

'' — southern wild comfrey (eastern United States)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q42958080 Boraginoideae Plants described in 2015 Flora of North America