Borage

Borage ( or ; Borago officinalis), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts are edible and its seeds provide oil.

Borage ( or ; Borago officinalis), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts are edible and its seeds provide oil. ==Description== B. officinalis grows to a height of , and is bristly or hairy all over the stems and leaves; the leaves are alternate, simple, and long. The flowers are complete, perfect with five narrow, triangular-pointed petals. Flowers are most often blue, although pink flowers are sometimes observed. White-flowered types are also cultivated. The blue flower is genetically dominant over the white flower. The flowers arise along scorpioid cymes to form large floral displays with multiple flowers blooming simultaneously, suggesting that borage has a high degree of geitonogamy (intraplant pollination). It has an indeterminate growth habit. In temperate climates such as in the UK, its flowering season is relatively long, from June to September. In milder climates, borage blooms continuously for most of the year. It can be invasive. ===Beverage=== Borage was a traditional garnish in the Pimms Cup cocktail, but nowadays it is generally replaced by a long sliver of cucumber peel or by mint. It is also one of the key botanicals in Gilpin's Westmorland Extra Dry Gin. The author of Cups and their Customs notes that a sprig or two of borage "communicates a peculiar refreshing flavour" to any cool drink. In Persian cuisine, borage tea (using the dried purple flowers) is called گل گاوزبان : gol gâvzabân, "cow's-tongue-flower". ==In culture== Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides said that borage was the nepenthe (νηπενθές : nēpenthés) mentioned in Homer, which caused forgetfulness when mixed with wine. King Henry VIII's last wife, Catherine Parr, used borage in a concoction to treat melancholy. Francis Bacon thought that borage had "an excellent spirit to repress the fuliginous vapour of dusky melancholie". John Gerard's Herball mentions an old verse concerning the plant: "Ego Borago, Gaudia semper ago (I, Borage, bring always joys)". He asserts: ==See also== List of companion plants ==External links==

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