Family: Borage [Boraginaceae]


Aegonychon

Amsinckia

Anchusa

Asperugo

Borago

Brunnera

Buglossoides

Cerinthe

Cynoglossum

Cynoglottis

Echium

Heliotropium

Lappula

Lithodora

Lithospermum

Lycopsis

Mertensia

Myosotis

Nemophila

Nonea

Omphalodes

Pentaglottis

Phacelia

Plagiobothrys

Pulmonaria

Symphytum

Trachystemon

The Borage Family, along with the Daisy, Orchid and Pea Families, produces many naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Retronecine is one such that is found in Groundsel [not yet linked to] and in Comfrey [not yet linked to], and is hepatotoxic, damaging the liver.

 Borage contains a non-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid, thesinine, which is coloured deep blue, and is the only blue dye that is edible.

The hairs on plants belonging to the Borage Family, if skin contact is made, can cause skin irritation in certain individuals, some plants more than others.



[BORAGO] Borages

Borage. (Borago officinalis) Photo: © RWD



[CYNOGLOSSUM] Hound's-tongues

Hound's-tongue. (Cynoglossum officinale) Photo: © RWD

Green Hound's-Tongue (Cynoglossum germanicum) Photo: © Moira O'Donnel



[ECHIUM] Viper's-buglosses

Viper's Bugloss. (Echium vulgare) Photo: © RWD



[AEGONYCHON] Gromwells

Purple Gromwell (Aegonychon purpureocaeruleum) Photo: © Foxy Lady



[MERTENSIA] Oysterplants

Oysterplant. (Mertensia maritima) Photo: © Derek Mayes



[MYOSOTIS] Forget-me-nots

Early Forget-me-not (Myosotis ramosissima) Photo: © RWD

Wood Forget-me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica) Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone

Field Forget-me-Not (Myosotis arvensis) Photo: © RWD

Changing Forget-me-Not (Myosotis discolor) Photo: Jill Stott



[BRUNNERA] Great Forget-me-Not

Great Forget-me-Not (Brunnera macrophylla)



[AMSINCKIA] Fiddlenecks

Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia) Photo: © RWD



[NONEA] Monksworts

Yellow Monkswort (Nonea lutea) Photo: © Tony Pennick


[ANCHUSA] Alkanets

Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis) Photo: © RWD

Alkanet (Anchusa officinalis)



[BUGLOSSOIDES] Field Gromwell

Up until recently Field Gromwell fell under the Anchusa genus, but taxonomists have decided in their wisdom to create the entirely new genus Buglossoides to accommodate this. Buglossoides used to also contain Purple Gromwell (which was called (Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum) but then called Buglossoides purpurocaerulea before being now called Aegonychon purpurocaeruleum within the new genus Aegonychon - which strangely is not in Stace 4).

The genus Lithospermum has not been abandoned altogether; it contains (in AD2020) just one species now: Common Gromwell, Lithospermum officinale. Wikipaedia shows several other plants (which do not [yet] occur in the UK) now residing in this new genus. So, three different genera for the 3 species of Gromwells which occur in the UK. Watch this space over the coming decades!

Field Gromwell (Buglossoides arvensis) Photo: © Bastiaan Brak



[TRACHYSTEMON] Abraham-Isaac-Jacob

Abraham-Isaac-Jacob (Trachystemon orientalis) Photo: © Jan McKinnell



[CERINTHE] Honeyworts

Greater Honeywort (Cerinthe major) Photo: © RWD



[SYMPHYTUM] Comfreys

 

[Symphytum]
COMFREY HYBRID CHART
[Symphytum]
COMFREY
HYBRIDS
BSBI MAPS
Rough
Comfrey

(asperum)
Caucasian
Comfrey

(caucasicum)
Common
Comfrey

(officinale)
Tuberous
Comfrey

(tuberosum)
Tuberous
Comfrey

(tuberosum)
    officinale
×
tuberosum
Common
Comfrey

(officinale)
Russian
Comfrey
  officinale
×
tuberosum
Caucasian
Comfrey

(caucasicum)
asperum
×
caucasicum
   
Rough
Comfrey

(asperum)
asperum
×
caucasicum
Russian
Comfrey
 

Note that the table below, nominally listing all the species lacking hybrids, also contains a species which is derived from three different Comfreys, a triple hybrid of Rough Comfrey, Common Comfrey and Tuberous Comfrey, which are all present on the above hybrid chart.
(Symphytum asperum x officinale x tuberosum)

There is also a cultivar, Hidcote Comfrey Symphytum × hidcotense:
(Symphytum x hidcotense) which is also a triple hybrid; being the hybrid between Creeping Comfrey (Symphytum grandiflorum) and possibly Russian Comfrey (Symphytum × uplandicum) [with the latter being a hybrid between Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) and Rough Comfrey (Symphytum asperum)]

Symphytum SPECIES LACKING HYBRIDS
(Symphytum bulbosum) Bulbous Comfrey
(Symphytum grandiflorum) Creeping Comfrey
(Symphytum orientale) Soft Comfrey
(Symphytum tauricum) Crimean Comfrey

White Comfrey (Symphytum orientale) Photo: © RWD

Hidcote-Blue Comfrey (Symphytum × hidcotense) Photo: © RWD

Russian Comfrey (Symphytum × uplandicum) Photo: © RWD

Caucasian Comfrey (Symphytum caucasicum) Photo: © RWD ************ OR A DIFFERING CONTRIBUTOR **************



[PENTAGLOTTIS] Green Alkanet

Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) Photo: © RWD



[LITHOSPERMUM] Gromwells

Common Gromwell (Lithospermum officinale) Photo: © RWD



[PULMONARIA] Lungworts

Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) Photo: © RWD

Narrow-Leaved Lungwort (Pulmonaria longifolia) Photo: © RWD

Red Lungwort (Pulmonaria rubra) Photo: © Sue Walker



[PHACELIA] Phacelia

Both the genus Phacelia and the genus Nemophila are in the Hydrophyllaceae which is a sub-family of Boraginaceae. The taxonomy of the Boraginaceae is subject to much turmoil at the moment as taxonomists attempt to sort it all out.

Tansy-Leaved Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) Photo: © Anita Light



[NEMOPHILA] Baby-blue-eyes

Both the genus Phacelia and the genus Nemophila are in the Hydrophyllaceae which is a sub-family of Boraginaceae. The taxonomy of the Boraginaceae is subject to much turmoil at the moment as taxonomists attempt to sort it all out.

Baby-blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii) Photo: © RWD

Family: Borage [Boraginaceae]

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