
BORAGE FAMILY 27 
ALPINE FORGET-ME-NOT MERTENSIA ALPINA 
‘Plate 21, fig. 5 
The Alpine Forget-me-not is not a true Forget-me-not, but is un- 
iversally called such in the Rocky Mountains, where it is very abun- 
dant on the highest peaks of Colorado at 10000-14000 ft. The flowers 
are blue or pink and are very fragrant. They grow in dense clusters 
on stems 2-16 in. high and bloom in early summer. This flower would 
well repay cultivation at lower altitudes. 
COMFREY SYMPHYTUM OFFICINALE 
Plate 21, fig. 7 
The yellowish or purplish flowers of the Comfrey occur on stems 
2-3 ft. tall along roadsides in Colorado at 5000 ft. They come into 
bloom in early summer and continue throughout the summer. The 
plant is medicinal, yielding an astringent as well as an emollient. The 
leaves when young form a good green vegetable and are not infre- 
quently eaten by country people where the plant abounds. They are 
also sometimes used to flavor cakes and other articles of food, but 
when fully grown they become coarse and unpleasant to the taste. 
DwarF ForGeTt-ME-Not  ERITRICHIUM ARGENTEUM 
Plate 21, fig. 8 
The Dwarf Forget-me-not receives its name from its resemblance 
to the true Forget-me-not, Myosotis. The flowers are white, pale blue 
or deep blue with some yellow in the throat and are clustered on tiny 
stems, 1-3 in. high. They grow only on alpine peaks at 11000-14400 ft. 
and bloom all summer long. The flowers are fragrant and the foliage 
silvery-green because of the presence of many white hairs. 
STICKSEED LAPPULA FLORIBUNDA 
Plate 21, fig. 9 
The Stickseed receives its name from the bur-like fruits covered 
with tiny hooks which cling tenaciously to objects that touch them. 
