BORAGE TRIBE 



20I 



5. Symphytum (Comfrey) 



1. 5. officinale (Common Comfrey). A large and handsome plant, 

 2-3 feet high, with branched leafy stems, the stem winged in the 

 upper part ; the leaves elliptical, pointed, tapering towards the base, 

 and running down the stem ; the flowers white, pink, or purple, 

 drooping in 2-forked clusters. Often introduced into gardens, from 

 which it is very difficult to eradicate it when it has once established 

 ; tself, owing to the brittleness of its fleshy roots, the least bit of 

 A'hich will grow. Watery places and banks of rivers, common. 

 Fl. May to August. Perennial. 



2. S. tuberosum (Tuberous Com- 

 frey). A more slender plant than 

 the preceding ; the stem is scarcely 

 branched, and but slightly winged ; 

 the root is tuberous. North of 

 England, very rare, and slightly 

 more frequent in Southern Scot- 

 land. Fl. June, July. Perennial. 



6. Borago (Borage) 



1. B. officinalis (Common Borage). 



The only British species. The 



stems are 1-2 feet high, and, as well 



as the leaves, are covered with thick 



whitish bristles ; the flowers, which 



are large, deep blue, and very hand- Borago Officinalis 



some, grow in terminal drooping (Common Borage) 



clusters, and may readily be distinguished 

 from any other plant in the Order by their 

 prominent black anthers. The juice has 

 the smell and flavour of cucumber, and is 

 an ingredient in claret, cider, and other 

 " cups." A variety sometimes occurs with 

 white flowers. Not uncommonly naturalized 

 in waste ground. Fl. June to September. 

 Biennial. 



7. Lycopsis (Bugloss) 



1. L. arvensis (Small Bugloss). The onl) 

 British species. A branched, prickly plant 

 6-18 inches high, with oblong wavy leaves, 

 the lower ones stalked, the upper ones sessile 

 Lycopsis Arvensis or sometimes clasping the stem. The 

 (Small Bugloss) flowers, borne in forked clusters, are minute. 



