''Borago'', or borage, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of five

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 ...

of herbs native to the Mediterranean, with one species, ''

Borago officinalis Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gar ...

'', cultivated and naturalized throughout the world.

Uses

''Borago officinalis'' is used medicinally, in

companion planting Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, a ...

, in cooking, and as an

oilseed Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...

. Cooked stalks are sometimes eaten as a vegetable. The large, hairy leaves taste mildly of cucumber, and star-shaped purple-blue

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 prized for their flavour. The leaves are often added to teas and salads, and the flowers have been added to wine (Borage has had a reputation to give one courage since Roman times). The flowers are highly attractive to bees. The hairs covering the plant are said to repel herbivores.

Description

Borages are

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

perennial 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 wid ...

herbaceous plants with alternate leaves and long-stalked flowers. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s are branched scorpioid cymes, i.e. subsequent flowers are oriented in a curve, as in the tail of the scorpion. The flowers are star-shaped wheel or bell-shaped; nectar is dispersed through a cone-shaped structure. They are pollinated by bees. The corolla is blue, pink, or white. Corollas are rotate with five petals. The corolla tube is short or nonexistent. Throat scales are short, hairless, and emarginated, i.e. with a nick or notch at the apex, standing out from the crown. The stamens are inserted near the base of the corolla. The anthers are mucronate, with long, pointed appendages, and are upright. The stamens protrude through the throat scales to nearly the bottom of the crown. The stamens are at the top of a long, narrow appendage. The appendix is a long, narrow apex. Styles are whole filiform to the base ovarium. The style does not extend beyond the scales of the throat and a capitate stigma. Four nuculae with a thick, ring-shaped collar are at the base. The fruits are small obovate achenes. Seeds are dispersed by ants.

Distribution

The species of this genus are found in cultivated and rocky areas through the southwestern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. The genus is monophyletic and very close genetically to the sister genus ''

Symphytum ''Symphytum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name comfrey (pronounced ). There are 59 recognized species.WFO (2022): Symphytum L. Published on the Internet; http://www.worldfloraonline.org/ ...

''. Four of the five species are found only in northwest Africa, Corsica, Sardinia, and the Tuscan Archipelago. Only ''B. officinalis'' is widely cultivated, and has become naturalized through much of the temperate world (e.g. Argentina, Canada, Chile, United States, Mexico, and Paraguay). ''B. officinalis'' was once thought to be native to Syria, but it is probably of North African origin, where other ''Borago'' species occur. It is often grown as ornamental.

Species

The genus comprises five species in two subgenera: Subgenus ''Borago'' is characterized by erect herbaceous, wheel-shaped flowers, blue, sometimes white: * ''

'' cultivated throughout the world, native to North Africa * ''

Borago trabutii ''Borago'', or borage, is a genus of five species of herbs native to the Mediterranean, with one species, '' Borago officinalis'', cultivated and naturalized throughout the world. Uses ''Borago officinalis'' is used medicinally, in companion p ...

'' endemic to the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas, Morocco * ''

Borago longifolia ''Borago'', or borage, is a genus of five species of herbs native to the Mediterranean, with one species, '' Borago officinalis'', cultivated and naturalized throughout the world. Uses ''Borago officinalis'' is used medicinally, in companion p ...

'' endemic to northern Algeria and Tunisia Subgenus ''Buglossites'' is prostrate and has bright, bell-shaped flowers: * ''

Borago pygmaea ''Borago'', or borage, is a genus of five species of herbs native to the Mediterranean, with one species, '' Borago officinalis'', cultivated and naturalized throughout the world. Uses ''Borago officinalis'' is used medicinally, in companion p ...

'' sometimes cultivated, native to Corsica, Sardinia, and the island of Capraia * ''

Borago morisiana ''Borago'', or borage, is a genus of five species of herbs native to the Mediterranean, with one species, '' Borago officinalis'', cultivated and naturalized throughout the world. Uses ''Borago officinalis'' is used medicinally, in companion p ...

'' endemic to the island of San Pietro in southwestern Sardinia

References

External links