BORAGINACEAE BORAGE FAMILY 



The Borage family consists of about 1500 species, mostly 

 herbs, some shrubs and a few tropical trees. The family is well 

 represented in America and its members are especially abun- 

 dant in the Mediterranean regions of Europe and Africa. 



The best known cultivated flowers of this family are the 

 Heliotropes and the Forget-me-nots. The original Forget-me- 

 nots, "that grow for happy lovers," according to Tennyson, are 

 natives of Europe and Asia where the type species, Myosotis 

 scorpioides L., has been cultivated in gardens for centuries. 

 It was brought to America by early settlers and now has spread 

 extensively along the Atlantic coast, inland along the Great 

 Lakes and into Illinois. It is found here rarely as are the two or 

 three native American species, which are, however, just as 

 "true." 



Most members of the family may be easily recognized by 

 the 5 stamens and deeply 4-lobed ovary. In the Heliotropes, 

 however, the ovary is not lobed but splits into 4 parts in fruit. 



KEY TO GENERA 



1. Ovary not lobed Heliotropium p. 260 



Ovary 4-lobed 2 



2. Ovary hairy; fruit burlike 3 



Ovary smooth; fruit not burlike 4 



3. Flowers reddish purple Cynoglossum p. 26 1 



Flowers white or whitish, small Lappula p. 262 



4. Stem and leaves smooth Mertensia p. 263 



Stem^and leaves hairy 5 



5. Corolla funnelform, lobes spreading Lithospermum p. 264 



Corolla tubular, lobes erect Onosmodium p. 266 



THE END OF SUMMER 



When poppies in the garden bleed, 



And coreopsis goes to seed. 



And pansies. blossoming past their prime, 



Grow small and smaller all the time. 



When on the mown field, shrunk and dry, 



Brown dock and purple thistle lie. 



And smoke from forest fires at noon 



Can make the sun appear tbe moon. 



When apple seeds, all white before. 



Begin to darken in the core. 



I know that summer, scarcely here. 



Is gone until another year. 



Edna St. Vincknt Millay 



259 



