Borago

Borage ( Borago officinalis)

Borage ( Borago ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae of ( Boraginaceae ).

Features

The Borago species are annual or perennial herbaceous plants.

The inflorescences are branched, loose winding, the flowers have bracts. The cup is fünfspaltig almost to the ground and increases after flowering. The crown is wheel-shaped spread to bell-shaped. Their color is blue, pink or white. The corolla tube is short or absent. The pharyngeal scales are short, bald and emarginate, they stand out from the crown. The stamens protrude beyond the throat scales clearly and set almost at the base of the crown. The stamens have a long, thin appendage at the top. The stylus does not extend beyond the throat scales and carry a kopfige scar.

The partial fruits of Klaus fruit are obovate, straight and wrinkled. Your insertion point is concave and surrounded by a torus.

Flowers and dispersal ecology

The flowers are bluebells, lead nectar and have a scattering cone. They are pollinated by bees.

The propagation is performed by ants ( myrmecochory ).

Dissemination

The genus is restricted to the south-west of the Mediterranean. Four of the five species are found only in North-West Africa, Corsica, Sardinia and the Tuscan Archipelago. Only the borage ( Borago officinalis) is cultivated very widespread and wild.

System

The genus Borago is the namesake genus of the Boraginaceae family, subfamily and tribe Boraginoideae Boragineae. The genus is monophyletic and the sister group of Symphytum.

The genus consists of five species in two subgenera:

• Subgenus Borago: it is characterized by upright growth habit and blue wheel-shaped flowers. Borage ( Borago officinalis L.)
• Borago trabutii Maire, endemic to the High and Anti-Atlas in Morocco
• Borago longifolia Poir. , Endemic in northern Algeria and Tunisia

• Borago pygmaea ( DC.) Chater & Greuter
• Borago morisiana Bigazzi & Riccieri, endemic to the island of San Pietro in south west Sardinia.

The name Borago is derived from the Arabic araq for welding and refers to the use as, inter alia, sweaty medicinal plant.

Documents

• Siegmund Seybold (ed.): Schmeil Fitschen - interactive ( CD -Rom ), Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2001/2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6