Borago
| Borago | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Borago officinalis flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | (unplaced) |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Subfamily: | Boraginoideae |
| Genus: |
Borago L. |
| Species | |
|
Borago longifolia Poir. |
|
Borago longifolia Poir.
Borago morisiana Bigazzi & Ricceri
Borago officinalis L.
Borago pygmaea Chater & Greuter
Borago trabutii Maire
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.
Borago officinalis is used medicinally, in companion planting, in cooking and as an oilseed. Cooked stalks are sometimes eaten as a vegetable. The large, hairy leaves taste mildly of cucumber, and star-shaped purple-blue flower 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.
Borages are annual or perennial herbaceous plants with alternate leaves and long-stalked flowers. The inflorescences are branched scorpioid cymes, i.e. subsequent flowers are oriented in a curve, as in the tail of the scorpion. Borages are annuals or perennials.
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 emarginate, 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 pointy appendages and 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. Style whole filiform to the base ovarium . The style does not extend beyond the scales of the throat and a capitate stigma. Four Nuculas with a thick ring-shaped collar at the base.
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Wikipedia