Echium
| Echium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Echium vulgare | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: |
Echium L. |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
See text.
Echium /ˈɛkiəm/ is a genus of 60 species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae.
The type species is Echium vulgare (viper's bugloss). Species of Echium are native to North Africa, mainland Europe and the Macaronesian islands where it reaches its maximum diversity.
Many species are used as ornamental and garden plants and may be found in suitable climates throughout the world. In Crete Echium italicum is called pateroi (πάτεροι) or voidoglosses (βοϊδόγλωσσες) and its tender shoots are eaten boiled or steamed.
Echium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora onosmella and orange swift.
The seed oil from Echium plantagineum contains high levels of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), gamma linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA), making it valuable in cosmetic and skin care applications, with further potential as a functional food, as an alternative to fish oils.
Some species have become invasive in southern Africa, California and Australia. For example, Echium plantagineum (Patterson's Curse), has become a major invasive species in Australia.
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