Boragineæ

Boragineæ, or BORAGINACEÆ, a chiefly herbaceous order of cordifloral dicotyledons, the alternate exstipulate leaves generally rough with hairs which proceed from a thick hard base (whence the old name Asperifoliæ), and the whole plant mucilaginous and emollient. The inflorescence is usually a scorpioid cyme; the calyx and corolla 5-lobed regular; the stamens epipetalous and alternate; and the primitively 2-lobed ovary becomes early divided into four 1-seeded nutlets, much resembling those of Labiatæ (q.v.), and with a single gynobasic style. The order Ehretiaceæ of some botanists differs chiefly in the fruit, which in the more typical species is a succulent drupe; and in the Heliotropes consists of four dry achenia more or less consolidated.—There are about 600 known species of the proper Boragineæ, and about 300 of Ehretiaceæ. The former are natives principally of temperate climates, and are particularly abundant in the south of Europe and in the temperate parts of Asia; the latter are more tropical, but not exclusively so. Borace (q.v.), Alkanet (q.v.), Comfrey (q.v.), and Forget-me-not (q.v.), are familiar examples of the former; the exquisitely fragrant Heliotrope (q.v.) is the best known of the latter. The drupes of some species of Ehretia are eatable.