Asperifolia,

BORAGO OFFICINALIS.

COMMON BORAGE.

Class V. PENTANDRIA. Order I. MONOGYNIA.

Gen. Char. Corolla wheel-shaped, flat, tube short. Calyx five-cleft, ovate, rough.

Spe. Char. large, blue.

Leaves ovate, alternate, undulated, hairy. Flowers

The Borago Officinalis, although commonly found growing about rubbish and in waste grounds, is not, however, originally a native of this country, but has now been long enough naturalized here to be considered as an American plant. Its flowers, which appear from June till September, are of a beautiful blue color; hence this plant in many gardens is cultivated for ornament as well as for its popular use, as an ingredient in that grateful summer beverage known by the name of "cool tankard."

This plant appears to have been very much used by the ancients, and its reputed medicinal character seems also to correspond most exactly with that of the common bugloss; the flowers of both have been termed cordial, from which they have been very highly recommended in melancholia, and other affections of the nervous system. As these flowers possess neither warmth, pungency, nor fragrance, their cordial efficacy has been ascribed to a saline quality, which, by abating inordinate heat, is found to be peculiarly grateful and refreshing. But though the herbaceous substance of Borage has been discovered to contain a saline matter, there is no evidence of its existence in the