Borage family
Description
A family of herbs, rarely shrubs and trees, most of which are rough, cosmopolitan in distribution, but centred in southern Europe and eastern Asia (Boraginaceae 1).
The leaves are alternate and entire. The flowers are usually regular and borne in curved cymes, with a 5-toothed calyx, a 5-lobed corolla which is funnel- or bell-shaped, pink in bud, and often later changing to blue. There are 5 stamens, alternating with the corolla-lobes. The ovary is superior, 2-4 celled, with the style usually inserted between the 4 lobes. The fruit is normally composed of 4 nutlets.
There are over 150 genera.
Use
Borage is cultivated as seasoning and as food plant for bees.
Described species
Borago officinalis, borage