BORAGE, bil•ld (Lo• Lat. bo•rago, front borra, burro, rough hair), Borago. A genus of plants of the natural order Boraginaeew, hav ing a wheel-shaped corolla, the mouth of which is closed with five teeth, and forked filaments, of which the inner arm hears the anther, the anthers connivent around the style, in the form of a cone. The species are few, chiefly natives of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The common borage (Bore go o//icinalis) is found in waste places in many parts of Europe. and is pretty frequent—perhaps naturalized—in Great Britain, and introduced into various parts of they United States. It is a plant of rather coarse appearance, with a stout, erect herbaceous stem, one to two feet high. somewhat branched; the lower leaves elliptical, obtuse, tapering to the base; the stem, leaves, flower-stalks, and calyx rough with hairs. The flowers are more than half an inch broad, of a beautiful blue color. Borage was formerly 11111(•11 cultivated and highly esteemed, being reckoned among the 'cordial' flowers, and supposed to possess exhilarating qualities, for which it no longer receives credit.
The belief in its virtues was at one time ex tremely prevalent in England, and its use accord ingly universal. The flowers were put into salads, Gerarde tells us (1597), "to make the mind glad": and he adds: "There lie also many things made of them, used everywhere for the comfort of the heart. for the driving away of sorrow, and increasing the joy of the mind." Like some other plants of the same order, bor age contains nitrate of potash (nitre), and is slightly febrifuge. It is mucilaginous and emol lient, and has been used in pectoral affections; its leaves impart a coolness to beverages in which they are steeped; and with wine. water, lemon, and sugar, enter into the composition of an Eng lish drink called 'cool tankard.' The young leaves and tender tops are pickled, and occasion ally used for salad in parts of Europe. The flow ers bear an abundance of nectar, and borage has quite a reputation as a bee plant.