Borage
Borago officinalis L.
Botanical family: Boraginaceae
A generous annual of the Boraginaceae family (Borago officinalis), native to the Mediterranean basin, borage is robust, undemanding, and self-seeds year after year. Its blue star-shaped flowers are edible in moderation (the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, avoid regular internal use).
Full sun
Any soil
Low, tolerates drought and poor soils
Self-seeding annual
Role in permaculture
An exceptional nectar plant, much visited by bumblebees and bees, it serves as a relay for pollinators at the edge of the vegetable garden.
Good companions
Cover the soil (moisture, fewer weeds)
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Insects attracted or useful
Seasons & availability
A hardy annual: sown in succession from March to June where it is to grow, it carries its blue flowers and gives flowers and young leaves from May until the first frosts; it self-seeds from one year to the next.
Available: May, June, July, August, September, October.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- La Ferme de Sainte Marthe, « Réussir la culture de la bourrache » (fermedesaintemarthe.com/en/blogs/comment-reussir-la-culture-de/reussir-la-culture-de-la-bourrache)
- Plants For A Future, « Borago officinalis » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Borago+officinalis)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Leaves AND flowers contain hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (EMA Monograph): the flowers are therefore not the 'safe' part of the plant. Internal use NOT RECOMMENDED. The occasional consumption of a few flowers as food decoration remains tolerated by tradition, but not in quantity or as a course. Borage seed oil (extracted and purified, a source of omega-6 GLA) is a different product, without alkaloids.
Family behaviour: Boraginaceae
In general, Boraginaceae bear very nectar-rich flowers on hairy foliage (borage, comfrey); their cut leaves make a mulch and a liquid feed rich in potassium. Excellent neighbours and refuges for pollinators.
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Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Species
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Renaissance English herbalism, John Gerard · England, late 16th century (Herball, 1597)
In his Herball, Gerard records an old Latin verse associated with the plant, 'Ego Borago, gaudia semper ago' ('I, Borage, always bring joys'), and reports that borage leaves and flowers put in wine 'make men and women glad and merry and drive away all sadness, dullness, and melancholy'. Borage is there the plant that comforts and gladdens the heart; it is from this reputation that the 'courage' reading of the verse was later born, through a play on etymology (cor-ago, 'I carry the heart').
John Gerard, The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (1597) ; relayé par M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal (1931)
The verse is frequently misattributed to Pliny the Elder: it does not appear in the Natural History but belongs to the medieval/Renaissance herbalist tradition recorded by Gerard. The Latin word gaudia means 'joys'; the 'courage' translation is a late reading based on an unestablished folk etymology of the plant's name.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: any soil.
- • Classic companion: Courgette (zucchini).