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Boraginaceae

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Boraginaceae
Borage (Borago officinalis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Juss.[1]

Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, has two significantly different circumscriptions as of December 2025. In the narrower circumscription, Boraginaceae sensu stricto is one of 11 families placed in the order Boraginales and includes about 90–120 genera.[2][3] This approach was developed by the Boraginales Working Group.[2] In the older, broader circumscription, Boraginaceae sensu lato is the only family in the order Boraginales, and includes about 155 genera.[4]

Description

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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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7]

Well-known members of the family include:

Taxonomy

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The APG IV system from 2016 classified the Boraginaceae as the only family in the order Boraginales within the asterids.[8] 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.[2]

Genera

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As of December 2025, sources that used Boraginaceae sensu stricto included slightly different genera. Some genera accepted by one source were treated as synonyms by other sources, resulting in fewer genera.[2][9] World Flora Online accepted about 120 genera in Boraginaceae s.s..[3]

Former genera

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As of December 2025, genera placed in Boraginaceae sensu lato by Plants of the World Online, but placed in other families by sources that use the Boraginales Working Group system were:[12][2]

References

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  1. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  2. ^ a b c d e Luebert, F.; Cecchi, L.; Frohlich, M.W.; et al. (2016). "Familial classification of the Boraginales". Taxon. 65 (3): 502–522. Bibcode:2016Taxon..65..502L. doi:10.12705/653.5. hdl:2158/1062790. ISSN 0040-0262. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Boraginaceae Juss". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  4. ^ "Boraginaceae Juss. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  5. ^ Buys, Matt H.; Hilger, Hartmut H. (2003). "Boraginaceae Cymes Are Exclusively Scorpioid and Not Helicoid". Taxon. 52 (4): 719–724. doi:10.2307/3647346. ISSN 0040-0262. JSTOR 3647346.
  6. ^ Watson, L. and M. J. Dallwitz. 1992 onwards. Boraginaceae Juss. Archived July 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine The Families of Flowering Plants. Version: 19 August 2013.
  7. ^ Hess, D. 2005. Systematische Botanik. ISBN 3-8252-2673-5
  8. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2016). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 181 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1111/boj.12385. Open access icon
  9. ^ "Boraginaceae". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  10. ^ "Ailuroglossum Sutorý". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  11. ^ "Pseudolappula Khoshsokhan & Kaz.Osaloo". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Boraginales Working Group". 2019. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  13. ^ "Codonaceae Weigend & Hilger". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  14. ^ "Coldeniaceae J.S.Mill. & Gottschling". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  15. ^ "Cordiaceae R.Br. ex Dumort." World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  16. ^ "Ehretiaceae Mart." World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  17. ^ "Heliotropiaceae Schrad." World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  18. ^ "Hoplestigmataceae Gilg". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  19. ^ "Hydrophyllaceae R.Br." World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  20. ^ "Lennoaceae Solms". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  21. ^ "Namaceae Molinari". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  22. ^ "Wellstediaceae Novák". World Flora Online. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boraginaceae.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Boraginaceae".


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