BORAGE 403 



purple, or blue flowers. Calyx five -parted. Corolla cylindrical or 

 funnel-shaped, with dilated throat, and the limb unequally divided into 

 five lobes. Stamens five. Stigma two-lobed. Nutlets rough and wrinkled, 

 top-shaped or oval. The species are chiefly South European and Oriental ; 

 two are British. The word Bugloss means ox-tongue. 



EcHiUM CANDICANS (whitish). Stem branched, 2 to 4 

 ^^^ ' feet high. Leaves lance-shaped, covered with silvery, 



silky down. Flowers blue ; May. Greenhouse biennial shrub. Introduced 

 from Madeira, 1777. 



E. CALLITHYRSUM (beautiful-spray). A tree-like shrub, attaining a 

 lieight of 12 feet, copiously branched with long lanceolate hairy leaves 

 and thyrsoid panicles a foot long, of rich purple -blue flowers. The 

 handsomest of all the Echiums. It is grown in the winter-garden at 

 Kew. Canary Islands. 



E. FASTUOSUM (disdainful). Stem branched, hairy above, 2 to 4 feet 

 high. Leaves oblong-lance-shaped, covered with w^hite hairs, the edges 

 fringed. Flowers bell-shaped, deep blue ; April to August, Greenhouse 

 evergreen shrub. Introduced from the Canary Islands, 1779. 



E. PLANTAGINEUM (Plantain-like). Stem diffusely branched, 1 to 8 

 feet high. Leaves slender-lance-shaped with heart-shaped base. Flowers 

 1 inch across; dark blue-purple; June to August. Native (Cornwall 

 and Jersey only) annual or biennial. 



E. VULGARE (common). Stem stout, usually unbranched, 1 to 3 feet 

 high. Leaves lance-shaped with rounded base. Flowers |-inch, red- 

 purple in bud, turning bright blue ; June to August. Native annual or 

 biennial. 



Ordinary garden soils of good quality suit these plants^ 

 and they need no special care. The herbaceous species are 

 raised from seeds sown in spring or autumn ; the shrubby species from 

 cuttings or seeds, the latter mode preferably. Cuttings should be inserted 

 in sandy soil imder a bell-glass in the greenhouse. These may be gi-own 

 out of doors in summer, but they require the shelter of a greenhouse in 

 winter. 



BORAGE 



Natural Order BoRAGiNEiK. Genus Borago 



BoRAGO (of doubtful meaning). A genus of three annual or perennial 

 herbs, bristling with swollen-based hairs. Leaves oblong or lance-shaped. 

 The flowers are five-parted : corolla wheel-shaped, the throat closed by 



