4OO THE ALPINE FLORA 



Boragineae 



The Borage order contains but two genera of value in 

 alpine gardering, but two of supreme merit Myosotis 

 and Eritrichium. They are to be distinguished by the 

 general hairiness of the plant with rounded or irregularly 

 angular stems ; the leaves are alternate, undivided and 

 seldom toothed ; the racemose or spiked inflorescence is 

 usually incurved before opening often in a scorpioid i. e. 

 crozier-like form, each flower consisting of a five-cleft, 

 persistent calyx, a five-lobed, monopetalous corolla, with 

 five alternating stamens. Most genera, especially Borage, 

 secrete a mucilaginous juice, which gives them emollient 

 properties. 



Myosotis 



Eng. : Forget-me-not ; Fr. ; Ne m'oubliez pas ; 

 Ger. : Vergissmeinnicht. 



M. alpestris* (PI. LXXX1V). A pretty Forget-me-not 

 with flowers of intense azure-blue and a yellow-eyed 

 throat, which is common in the grasslands of the Alps 

 and Jura, sometimes climbing to mountain passes of 

 25oo m. It is also found with white and rose flowers, 

 and has been introduced into gardens nearly a century 

 ago. Cultivation has enlarged and modified the type 

 improved it, to judge by the catalogues of seedsmen ! 

 But the use of it for fashioning Jiving carpets, formal 

 beds or even mosaic patchwork has sadly detracted from 

 its natural glory. 1 myself am one of those who have 

 always protested against such an use of the alpine flora, 



