Vol. III.] 



BORAGE FAMILY. 



67 



3. Onosmodium Virginianum (L,.) DC, 

 Virginia False Gromwell. (Fig. 3052.) 



Lithospermum Virginanum L- Sp. PI. 132. 1753. 

 Onosmodium Virginianum DC. Prodr. 10: 70. 1846. 



Densely appressed-hispid with stiff hairs; stem 

 rather slender, usually branched above, i-2^ 

 high. Leaves oblong, oval, or oblong-lanceolate, ob- 

 tuse, sessile, i / ~3 / long, or the lower oblanceolate, 

 acutish and narrowed into petioles; calyx-segments 

 linear-lanceolate, acuminate; corolla cylindric or 

 nearly so, yellowish-white, about \" long, the lobes 

 lanceolate, acuminate, nearly as long as the tube, 

 strigose without; nutlets ovoid, obtuse or obtusish, 



l"-l 



long. 



In dry thickets or on hillsides, New England to Flor- 

 ida, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Texas. Ascends to 3000 

 ft. in Virginia. May-July. 



13. SYMPHYTUM L, Sp. PI. 136. 1753. 



Erect coarse rough hairy perennial branching herbs, with thick mucilaginous roots, al- 

 ternate entire leaves, those of the stem mostly clasping, the uppermost tending to be op- 

 posite, the lower long-petioled. Flowers yellow, blue, or purple, in terminal simple or 

 forked scorpioid racemes. Calyx deeply 5-cleft. Corolla tubular, slightly dilated above, 

 5-lobed, the lobes short, the throat with 5 crests below the lobes. Stamens 5, included, in- 

 serted on the corolla-tube; filaments slender. Ovary 4-divided; style filiform. Nutlets 4, 

 obliquely ovoid, slightly incurved, wrinkled, inserted by their bases on the flat receptacle, the 

 scar of the attachment broad, concave, dentate. [Greek, grow-together, from its supposed 

 healing virtues.] 



About 15 species, natives of the Old World. 



1. Symphytum officinale I,. Comfrey. 



Healing-herb. (Fig. 3053.) 

 Symphytum officinale L. Sp. PI. 136. 1753. 



Roots thick, deep; stem erect, branched, 2 - 

 3 high. Leaves lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate, 

 or the lower ovate, pinnately veined, ^f-io' 

 long, acute or acuminate at the apex, narrowed 

 into margined petioles, or the uppermost 

 smaller and sessile, decurrent on the stem; 

 petioles of the basal leaves sometimes i2 / long; 

 flowers numerous, in dense racemes or clusters; 

 pedicels 2 // -4 // long; calyx-segments ovate or 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, much 

 shorter than the corolla; corolla yellowish or 

 purplish, 6 // -io // long; nutlets brown, shining, 

 slightly wrinkled, 2." high. 



In waste places, Newfoundland to Minnesota, 

 south to Maryland. Naturalized or adventive from 

 Europe. Native also of Asia. June-Aug. Called 

 also Back- or Black-wort, Bruisewort, Knit-back, 

 Boneset. 



14. BORAGO L. Sp. PI. 137. 1753. 



Hirsute or hispid annual or biennial branching herbs, with alternate entire leaves, and 

 showy blue flowers, in terminal loose leafy racemes. Calyx deeply 5-cleft or 5-parted. 

 Corolla rotate, the tube very short, the throat closed by scales, the limb 5-lobed, the lobes 

 imbricated, acute. Stamens 5, inserted on the corolla-tube; filaments dilated below, nar- 

 rowed above into a slender appendage; anthers linear, erect, and connivent into a cone. 

 Ovary 4-divided; style filiform. Nutlets 4, ovoid, erect, attached by their bases to the flat 

 receptacle, the scar of attachment large, concave. [Middle Latin, hurra, rough hair, allud- 

 ing to the foliage.] 



Three species, natives of the Mediterranean region. 



