Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, and

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s in 146 to 154

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

with a worldwide distribution. The

APG IV system The APG IV system of flowering plant classification is the fourth version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy for flowering plants (angiosperms) being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). It was publish ...

from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order Boraginales within the

asterids Asterids are a large clade (monophyly, monophyletic group) of flowering plants, composed of 17 Order_(biology), orders and more than 80,000 species, about a third of the total flowering plant species. The asterids are divided into the unranked cl ...

. Under the older

Cronquist system The Cronquist system is a list of systems of plant taxonomy, taxonomic classification system of angiosperms, flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of ...

, it was included in the Lamiales, but clearly is no more similar to the other families in this order than it is to families in several other asterid orders. A revision of the Boraginales, also from 2016, split the Boraginaceae into 11 distinct families: Boraginaceae ''

sensu ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

stricto'', Codonaceae, Coldeniaceae, Cordiaceae, Ehretiaceae, Heliotropiaceae, Hoplestigmataceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Lennoaceae, Namaceae, and Wellstediaceae. These plants have alternately arranged leaves, or a combination of alternate and opposite leaves. The leaf blades usually have a narrow shape; many are linear or lance-shaped. They are smooth-edged or toothed, and some have petioles. Most species have bisexual flowers, but some taxa are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

. Most

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

is by

hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

ns, such as bees. Most species have

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s that have a coiling shape, at least when new, called scorpioid cymes. The flower has a usually five-lobed calyx. The corolla varies in shape from rotate to bell-shaped to tubular, but it generally has five lobes. It can be green, white, yellow, orange, pink, purple, or blue. There are five

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s and one

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

with one or two stigmas. The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, sometimes fleshy. Most members of this family have hairy leaves. The coarse character of the hairs is due to cystoliths of

silicon dioxide Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundan ...

and

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

. These hairs can induce an adverse skin reaction, including itching and rash in some individuals, particularly among people who handle the plants regularly, such as gardeners. In some species,

anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...

s cause the flowers to change color from red to blue with age. This may be a signal to

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

s that a flower is old and depleted of

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

and

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

.Hess, D. 2005. ''Systematische Botanik''. Well-known members of the family include: * alkanet (''Alkanna tinctoria'') *

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 ar ...

(''Borago officinalis'') *

comfrey ''Symphytum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name comfrey (pronounced , from the Latin confervere to 'heal' or literally to 'boil together', referring to uses in ancient traditional medicin ...

(''Symphytum'' spp.) * fiddleneck (''Amsinckia'' spp.) * forget-me-not (''Myosotis'' spp.) * geigertree (''Cordia sebestena'') * green alkanet (''Pentaglottis sempervirens'') * heliotrope (''Heliotropium'' spp.) * hound's tongue (''Cynoglossum'' spp.) * lungwort (''Pulmonaria'' spp.) * oysterplant (''Mertensia maritima'') * purple viper's bugloss/Salvation Jane (''Echium plantagineum'') * Siberian bugloss (''Brunnera macrophylla'') * viper's bugloss (''Echium vulgare'')

Genera

According to

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

; * '' Actinocarya'' * '' Adelinia'' * '' Adelocaryum'' * '' Aegonychon'' * '' Afrotysonia'' * '' Ailuroglossum'' * '' Alkanna'' * '' Amblynotus'' * '' Amphibologyne'' * '' Amsinckia'' * '' Amsinckiopsis'' * '' Anchusa'' * '' Ancistrocarya'' * '' Andersonglossum'' * '' Anoplocaryum'' * '' Antiotrema'' * '' Antiphytum'' * '' Arnebia'' * '' Asperugo'' * '' Borago'' * '' Bothriospermum'' * '' Bourreria'' * '' Brachybotrys'' * '' Brandella'' * '' Brunnera'' * '' Buglossoides'' * '' Caccinia'' * '' Cerinthe'' * '' Chionocharis'' * ''

Codon Genetic code is a set of rules used by living cells to translate information encoded within genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences of nucleotide triplets or codons) into proteins. Translation is accomplished by the ribosome, which links prote ...

'' * '' Coldenia'' * '' Cordia'' * '' Craniospermum'' * '' Crucicaryum'' * '' Cryptantha'' * '' Cynoglossopsis'' * '' Cynoglossum'' * '' Cynoglottis'' * '' Cystostemon'' * '' Dasynotus'' * '' Decalepidanthus'' * '' Draperia'' * '' Echiochilon'' * '' Echium'' * '' Ehretia'' * '' Ellisia'' * '' Embadium'' * '' Emmenanthe'' * '' Eremocarya'' * '' Eriodictyon'' * '' Eritrichium'' * '' Eucrypta'' * '' Euploca'' * '' Gastrocotyle'' * '' Glandora'' * '' Greeneocharis'' * '' Gyrocaryum'' * '' Hackelia'' * '' Halacsya'' * '' Halgania'' * '' Harpagonella'' * '' Heliocarya'' * ''

Heliotropium ''Heliotropium'' is a genus of flowering plants traditionally included in the family Boraginaceae ''s.l.'', but placed in the family Heliotropiaceae within the Boraginales order, by the Boraginales Working Group.. There are around 325 species ...

'' * '' Hesperochiron'' * '' Hoplestigma'' * '' Hormuzakia'' * ''

Huynhia ''Huynhia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae, from Asia. It is native to Iran, North Caucasus (within Russia), Transcaucasus (or Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan), and Turkey. The genus was circumscribed by ...

'' * '' Hydrophyllum'' * '' Iberodes'' * '' Ivanjohnstonia'' * '' Ixorhea'' * '' Johnstonella'' * '' Keraunea'' * '' Lappula'' * '' Lasiocaryum'' * '' Lennoa'' * '' Lepechiniella'' * '' Lepidocordia'' * '' Lindelofia'' * '' Lithodora'' * '' Lithospermum'' * '' Lobostemon'' * '' Maharanga'' * '' Mairetis'' * '' Mattiastrum'' * '' Megacaryon'' * '' Melanortocarya'' * '' Memoremea'' * '' Mertensia'' * '' Microcaryum'' * '' Microparacaryum'' * '' Microula'' * '' Mimophytum'' * '' Moltkia'' * '' Moltkiopsis'' * '' Moritzia'' * '' Myosotidium'' * '' Myosotis'' * '' Myriopus'' * '' Nama'' * '' Neatostema'' * '' Nemophila'' * '' Nesocaryum'' * '' Nihon'' * '' Nogalia'' * '' Nonea'' * '' Ogastemma'' * '' Omphalodes'' * '' Omphalolappula'' * '' Omphalotrigonotis'' * '' Oncaglossum'' * '' Onosma'' * '' Oreocarya'' * '' Paracaryum'' * '' Paramoltkia'' * '' Pectocarya'' * '' Pentaglottis'' * ''

Phacelia ''Phacelia'' (phacelia, scorpionweed, Heliotropium, heliotrope) is a genus of about 200 species of annual plant, annual or perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plant, plants in the borage family, native to North Ameri ...

'' * '' Pholisma'' * '' Pholistoma'' * '' Phyllocara'' * '' Plagiobothrys'' * '' Podonosma'' * '' Pontechium'' * '' Pseudolappula'' * '' Pulmonaria'' * '' Rindera'' * '' Rochefortia'' * '' Rochelia'' * '' Romanzoffia'' * '' Rotula'' * '' Sauria'' * '' Selkirkia'' * '' Simpsonanthus'' * '' Sinojohnstonia'' * '' Solenanthus'' * '' Stenosolenium'' * '' Suchtelenia'' * '' Symphytum'' * '' Thaumatocaryon'' * '' Thyrocarpus'' * '' Tianschaniella'' * ''

Tiquilia ''Tiquilia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. The 28 species in this genus are known by the common name crinklemat. They are native to the Western Hemisphere and are mostly found in desert regions. Species 28 sp ...

'' * '' Tournefortia'' * '' Trachelanthus'' * '' Trachystemon'' * '' Tricardia'' * '' Trichodesma'' * '' Trigonocaryum'' * '' Trigonotis'' * '' Turricula'' * '' Varronia'' * '' Wellstedia'' * ''

Wigandia ''Wigandia'' is a genus of flowering plants within the waterleaf subfamily, Hydrophylloideae. They are found mainly in Central America and South America, though one or two species are found as far north as the United States. Some are grown as ...

References

External links

Distribution MapMissouri Botanical Garden

BoraginaceaeMabberley's Plant-Book

BoraginaceaePlant NamesIPNI

Home page of James L. Reveal and C. Rose Broome

Boraginaceae (Search Exact)Name SearchTropicosMissouri Botanical Garden

Topwalks.net: Walking Routes in Spain.
Boraginaceae.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). {{Authority control Asterid families

Genera

References

Further reading

External links