88 BORAGINACEAE 



recapitulate to us the evolution of their colours white, rosy, blue in 

 several sp. of Myosotis; yellow, bluish, violet in M. versicolor; and 

 red, violet, blue in Pulmonaria, Echium, &c. Here, white and yellow 

 seem to have been the primitive colours." (Miiller.) Many B. are 

 heterostyled, e.g. Pulmonaria. The fls. of many sp. are pendulous 

 (and thus bee-flowers), e.g. Borago, Symphytum. Echium is gyno- 

 dioecious. 



Classification and chief genera (after Giirke) : 

 I. CORDIOIDEAE (drupe; style terminal: twice bi- 

 lobed): Cordia. 



II. EHRETIOIDEAE (do.; style simple or bi-lobed or 



double ; no ring of hairs) : Ehretia. 



III. HELIOTROPIOIDEAE (do., do., but ring of hairs near 



tip of style): Tournefortia, Heliotropium. 



IV. BORAGINOIDEAE (style gynobasic : achenes). 



1. Cynoglosseae (fl. reg. ; base of style more or less conical ; 



tips of achenes not projecting above pt. of attachment) : 

 Omphalodes, Cynoglossum, Rindera. 



2. Eritrichieae (do., but tips projecting above pt. of attach- 



ment) : Echinospermum, Eritrichium, Cryptanthe. 



3. Anchuseae (fl. reg.; base of style flat or slightly convex ; 



achenes with concave attachment surface) : Symphytum, 

 Borago, Anchusa, Alkanna, Pulmonaria. 



4. Lithospermeae (do., but surface of attachment flat) : Myo- 



sotis, Lithospermum, Arnebia, Cerinthe. 



5. Echieae (fl. zygomorphic) : Echium. 



V. WELLSTEDIOIDEAE ( 4 -merous ; ov. compressed, 2-loc. 



with one pend. ov. in each ; caps.) : Wellstedia. 



Boragineae (RH. ) = Boraginaceae. 



Boraginodes Post et O. Ktze. (Trichodesma p.p.). Borag. (iv. i). 

 i Somaliland. 



Borago L. Boraginaceae (iv. 3). 3 Medit., Eur., As. B. officinalis L. 

 Brit, (borage) cult, for bee feeding. It has a typical bee-fl. The 

 blue pendulous fl. secretes honey below the ovary ; the elastic sta. 

 form a cone and dehisce introrsely from apex to base, the pollen 

 ripening gradually and trickling into the tip of the cone. Insects 

 probing for honey dislocate the sta., receiving a shower of pollen 

 (cf. Erica, Galanthus, Cyclamen). In older fls. the stigma, now ripe, 

 projects beyond the sta. so as to be touched first. 



Boragoid, Boraginaceae. 



Borassodendron Becc. Palmae (n). i Perak. 



Borassus L. Palmae (n). 2 palaeotrop. B. fiabellifer L. (Palmyra 

 palm) cult, in Ceylon, India, &c. Dioecious. Its uses are legion ; 

 an old Tamil song enumerates 801. The wood of the trunk is very 

 hard and durable, and resists salt water ; it is also used for rafters, 

 well-sweeps, &c. The large fanshaped 1. are used as thatch, and 

 made into olas or writing "paper" sheets, the writing being done 

 upon them with a stylus. From the base of the 1. Palmyra fibre is 

 collected, and used for making brushes, &c. The split 1. are woven 

 into mats, baskets, &c. The fr. is eaten roasted, and the infl. is 

 tapped for toddy (cf. Cocos, Agave) from which sugar or jaggery is 



