Boraginaceae

Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution.
The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order Boraginales within the asterids. Under the older Cronquist system, it was included in the Lamiales, but clearly is no more similar to the other families in this order than it is to families in several other asterid orders. A revision of the Boraginales, also from 2016, split the Boraginaceae into 11 distinct families: Boraginaceae sensu stricto, Codonaceae, Coldeniaceae, Cordiaceae, Ehretiaceae, Heliotropiaceae, Hoplestigmataceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Lennoaceae, Namaceae, and Wellstediaceae.
These plants have alternately arranged leaves, or a combination of alternate and opposite leaves. The leaf blades usually have a narrow shape; many are linear or lance-shaped. They are smooth-edged or toothed, and some have petioles. Most species have bisexual flowers, but some taxa are dioecious. Most pollination is by hymenopterans, such as bees. Most species have inflorescences that have a coiling shape, at least when new, called scorpioid cymes. The flower has a usually five-lobed calyx. The corolla varies in shape from rotate to bell-shaped to tubular, but it generally has five lobes. It can be green, white, yellow, orange, pink, purple, or blue. There are five stamens and one style with one or two stigmas. The fruit is a drupe, sometimes fleshy.
Most members of this family have hairy leaves. The coarse character of the hairs is due to cystoliths of silicon dioxide and calcium carbonate. These hairs can induce an adverse skin reaction, including itching and rash in some individuals, particularly among people who handle the plants regularly, such as gardeners. In some species, anthocyanins cause the flowers to change color from red to blue with age. This may be a signal to pollinators that a flower is old and depleted of pollen and nectar.
Well-known members of the family include:
alkanet (Alkanna tinctoria)
borage (Borago officinalis)
comfrey (Symphytum spp.)
fiddleneck (Amsinckia spp.)
forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.)
geigertree (Cordia sebestena)
green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)
heliotrope (Heliotropium spp.)
hound's tongue (Cynoglossum spp.)
lungwort (Pulmonaria spp.)
oysterplant (Mertensia maritima)
purple viper's bugloss/Salvation Jane (Echium plantagineum)
Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla)
viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare)
Genera
According to Kew;
Actinocarya
Adelinia
Adelocaryum
Aegonychon
Afrotysonia
Ailuroglossum
Alkanna
Amblynotus
Amphibologyne
Amsinckia
Amsinckiopsis
Anchusa
Ancistrocarya
Andersonglossum
Anoplocaryum
Antiotrema
Antiphytum
Arnebia
Asperugo
Auxemma
Borago
Bothriospermum
Bourreria
Brachybotrys
Brandella
Brunnera
Buglossoides
Caccinia
Cerinthe
Chionocharis
Choriantha
Codon
Coldenia
Cordia
Craniospermum
Crucicaryum
Cryptantha
Cynoglossopsis
Cynoglossum
Cynoglottis
Cystostemon
Dasynotus
Decalepidanthus
Draperia
Echiochilon
Echium
Ehretia
Ellisia
Embadium
Emmenanthe
Eremocarya
Eriodictyon
Eritrichium
Eucrypta
Euploca
Gastrocotyle
Glandora
Greeneocharis
Gyrocaryum
Hackelia
Halacsya
Halgania
Harpagonella
Heliocarya
Heliotropium
Hesperochiron
Heterocaryum
Huynhia
Hydrophyllum
Iberodes
Ivanjohnstonia
Ixorhea
Johnstonella
Lappula
Lasiocaryum
Lennoa
Lepechiniella
Lepidocordia
Lindelofia
Lithodora
Lithospermum
Lobostemon
Maharanga
Mairetis
Mattiastrum
Megacaryon
Melanortocarya
Memoremea
Mertensia
Microcaryum
Microparacaryum
Microula
Mimophytum
Moltkia
Moltkiopsis
Moritzia
Myosotidium
Myosotis
Myriopus
Nama
Neatostema
Nemophila
Nesocaryum
Nihon
Nogalia
Nonea
Ogastemma
Omphalodes
Omphalolappula
Omphalotrigonotis
Oncaglossum
Onosma
Oreocarya
Paracaryum
Paramoltkia
Pardoglossum
Pectocarya
Pentaglottis
Phacelia
Pholisma
Pholistoma
Plagiobothrys
Podonosma
Pontechium
Pseudoheterocaryum
Pseudolappula
Pulmonaria
Rindera
Rochefortia
Rochelia
Romanzoffia
Rotula
Sauria
Selkirkia
Simpsonanthus
Sinojohnstonia
Solenanthus
Stenosolenium
Stephanocaryum
Suchtelenia
Symphytum
Thaumatocaryum
Thyrocarpus
Tianschaniella
Tiquilia
Tournefortia
Trachelanthus
Trachystemon
Trichodesma
Trigonocaryum
Trigonotis
Turricula
Varronia
Valentiniella
Wellstedia
Wigandia
References
External links
Distribution Map Genus list Boraginaceae Boraginales Trees APweb Missouri Botanical Garden
Boraginaceae Mabberley's Plant-Book
Boraginaceae Plant Names IPNI
Home page of James L. Reveal and C. Rose Broome
Boraginaceae (Search Exact) Name Search Tropicos Missouri Botanical Garden
Boraginaceae. Topwalks.net: Walking Routes in Spain.
Boraginaceae. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Further reading
Diane, N., et al. 2002. A systematic analysis of Heliotropium, Tournefortia, and allied taxa of the Heliotropiaceae (Boraginales) based on ITS1 sequences and morphological data. American Journal of Botany 89(2), 287-95.
Gottschling, M., et al. (2001). Secondary structure of the ITS1 transcript and its application in a reconstruction of the phylogeny of Boraginales. Plant Biology 3, 629-36.
Asterid families