Anchusa officinalis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Boraginales |
Family: | Boraginaceae |
Genus: | Anchusa |
Species: | A. officinalis |
Binomial name | |
Anchusa officinalis | |
Subspecies [1] | |
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Synonyms [2] [3] | |
List
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Anchusa officinalis, also knowns as common bugloss or common alkanet, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is native to Europe and small parts of western Asia, but has been escaped from cultivation to grow in additional locations in Europe and the Americas. The flowers are noted for their popularity with bumblebees due to a large nectar flow. The plants have been used in traditional medicines, but were falling out of favor by the early 1800s. They are still planted in gardens for their popularity with bees and their blue flowers.
This herbaceous plant with well developed stems most often grows 40 to 70 centimeters tall, [4] but may reach 100 centimeters tall in ideal conditions. [5] It may be an annual, biennial, or perennial. [4] The whole of the plant is covered in short, coarse hairs. [6] Plants have a strong taproot that may be as long as one meter. [7]
Bugloss has leaves that are shaped like a narrow spear head (lance-linear), with the widest portion in the middle and tapering towards both ends. [4] Leaves located lower down on the stems have their own leaf stems while those towards the ends of the stems have bases that clasp the stem. [6] Leaves are arranged alternately on the stem. [7] The length of the leaves is 6–20 centimeters and the width is 1–2.5 centimeters. [4]
The flowering clusters (cymes) at the ends of the stems are densely packed with blooms along one side of the stem. [5] When new the flowers are dark pink or crimson in color and typically become dark purple-blue with a white center as they age. [6] [7] However, they may also be violet, reddish, white, or yellowish in color. [5] The fused petals (the corolla) are 6–11 millimeters long and 6–11 millimeters wide. [4] When blooming the sepals (calyx) may be 5–7 millimeters long, but they persist into fruiting and become 8–12 millimeters long. [4] The white center of the flowers are scales that close the throat of the flower. [6] The flowering season is from June until August in Europe. [7]
The fruit is called a nutlet, the hardened lobed ovary of the plant. [4] Each is 2 millimeters wide by about 3–4 millimeters long. [8] Each fruit may have up to four seeds, but will usually have fewer. The flowers are self-incompatible and dependent on the services of pollinators to accomplish good seed set. [9] Seeds may be produced from August to October. [7]
The most common plant chemicals found in common bugloss are ones derived from phenolic acid. Specific compounds include p-Coumaric acid, danshensu, caffeic acid, neochlorogenic acid, salvianolic acid, and rosmarinic acid. The flavonoids and flavonols are present in lower, but still significant amount. They include afzelin, Kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside, and rutin. [10]
The native range of the species is in Europe from France into Russia west of the Ural Mountains and then south in to Kazakhstan. It has been introduced to additional places in Europe such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, and Finland. [1] It has also been introduced to North America and is found on the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California and in many of the Rocky Mountain states including Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Colorado. In the eastern US, it is found in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. [11] Elsewhere, it also grows in northeastern Argentina. [1]
Common alkanet grows in varied environments such as sandy grasslands in coastal dunes, wastelands that were formerly developed or farmed areas, in shrub communities, the slopes of former quarry sites, and along roadsides. [12] [13]
As with many plants and other species, the first scientific name was given to Anchusa officinalis by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. [1] At the same time he misidentified some specimens as a separate species, Anchusa angustifolia which is now regarded as a synonym of Anchusa officinalis subsp. officinalis. [2] Since that time, 39 more species and subspecies that are now regarded as synonyms have been published.
Name | Year | Rank | Synonym of: | Notes | Ref. |
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Anchusa angustifolia L. | 1753 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa arvalis Rchb. | 1831 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [14] | |
Anchusa davidovii Stoj. | 1933 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa incarnata Schrad. ex Steud. | 1821 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [15] | |
Anchusa leptophylla W.D.J.Koch | 1844 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [16] | |
Anchusa lycopsidis Besser ex Link | 1821 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [17] | |
Anchusa macedonica Velen. | 1898 | species | A. o. subsp. intacta | nom. illeg. | [18] |
Anchusa macrocalyx Hausskn. | 1887 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa maculata Hornem. ex Steud. | 1840 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [19] | |
Anchusa microcalyx Vis. | 1829 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [20] | |
Anchusa moesiaca Velen. | 1893 publ. 1894 | species | A. o. subsp. intacta | ||
Anchusa ochroleuca Baumg. | 1816 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | nom. illeg. | [21] |
Anchusa officinalis var. alba Gray | 1821 publ. 1822 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis subsp. angustifolia (L.) Bjelcic | 1960 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | not validly publ. | |
Anchusa officinalis var. angustifolia (L.) Lej. | 1825 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. angustior Hartm. | 1832 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. arvalis (Rchb.) Rouy | 1908 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. brachyantha Regel | 1863 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. glabrescens Wimm. & Grab. | 1827 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. hirsuta Wimm. & Grab. | 1827 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. hispida Wimm. & Grab. | 1827 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. incarnata Gray | 1821 publ. 1822 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis subvar. intacta (Griseb.) Guşul. | 1927 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. intacta | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. longiflora Griseb. | 1844 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. intacta | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. macrantha H.Post | 1844 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. minor Gaudin | 1828 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. moesiaca (Velen.) Guşul. | 1927 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. intacta | ||
Anchusa officinalis f. roseiflora H.Post | 1846 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis f. undulatifolia Wimm. & Grab. | 1827 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa officinalis var. velenovskyi Guşul. | 1927 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa osmanica Velen. | 1885 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa pustulata Schur | 1866 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [22] | |
Anchusa spicata Lam. | 1792 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [23] | |
Anchusa tinctoria Woodv. | 1791 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | nom. illeg. | [24] |
Anchusa undulata var. intacta Griseb. | 1844 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. intacta | ||
Anchusa velenovskyi (Guşul.) Stoj. | 1933 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Anchusa velenovskyi var. stojanovii St.Kozhukharov | 1989 | subspecies | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Buglossum angustifolium (L.) Moench | 1794 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | ||
Buglossum aspermum Gilib. | 1782 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | opus utique oppr. | [25] |
Buglossum officinale Lam. | 1779 | species | A. o. subsp. officinalis | [26] |
As of 2024 [update] , Anchusa officinalisL. is listed by Plants of the World Online (POWO) and World Flora Online (WFO) as the accepted name for this species. [1] [8]
As of 2024 [update] , two subspecies are recognized. The autonym Anchusa officinalis subsp. officinalis and Anchusa officinalis subsp. intacta. The subspecies intacta was first described and named by August Grisebach in 1844. [3] In 2003 the botanists Federico Selvi and Massimo Bigazzi (1953–2006) published a paper where they better defined the relationship of ssp. intacta with the rest of the species and found evidence that it originated from a hybridization event with the Anatolian relative Anchusa leptophylla . [27]
The name for the genus Anchusa is botanical Latin derived from the Greek "agchousa" or "egchousa", the name for plants from which rouge were made. From the Greek word "egchousizein", to put on rouge. The species name, or specific epithet, officinalis is an adjective used in medieval Latin meaning of a workshop. This name has been applied to many plants that have or had a common use. [28]
This plant is frequently called "common bugloss" in the United States, [5] distinguishing it from Anchusa arvensis which is frequently called simply "bugloss". [29] It is also sometimes called "small garden buglosse". [1] This name is a reference to the blue flowers suggesting the blueish tongue of a cow, from medieval Latin "buglossus", ox-toungued. [28]
The names "common alkanet" or simply "alkanet" are frequently used for this species, [30] [5] but alkanet alone is occasionally used for other species such as Alkanna tinctoria , Pentaglottis sempervirens , [31] Brunnera macrophylla , [32] or to the genus Anchusa as a whole. [33] This name comes to English by way of Spanish from the Moorish Arabic "al-hannat", henna, though the plants have nothing to do with each other. [28]
The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated ninth in nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the Agriland project. [34] Bumblebees and cuckoo bumblebees visit the flowers of common bugloss significantly more frequently than other bees, often representing over 90% of the visitors to flowers. [9] [12] The common European species, Bombus subterraneus , is one that is specifically identified as a pollinator. [35] Females of the specialist bee species Hoplitis adunca only visit flowers of genus Echium to collect pollen, but they frequently visit other blue flowers like Anchusa officinalis to collect nectar. [36]
Common bugloss has been considered a noxious weed in Washington State since 1988 with prohibitions on transporting or selling plants in the state. [37] It is similarly listed as a noxious weed in Oregon on their "B List" and "T List", as a regionally common weed that is a focus of preventative control. [38] [39] In British Columbia it is listed as an invasive plant and a "regional noxious weed" in the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary. [40] It is of concern in agriculture both for competing with more desirable forage species in fields and for causing baled hay to rot due to the high moisture content of its leaves. [37]
Common bugloss is sometimes planted in kitchen, herb, or wildflower gardens. It is cold tolerant, able to endure winter temperatures at least as low as -20°C. In a garden setting it requires good drainage, particularly in wet climates. [41] Though in dry climates with typically freely draining soils, like Colorado, it known from relatively moist areas. [13] In gardens seeds are planted as soon as the soil can be worked. Taller plants are staked to prevent them from falling over. They are winter hardy in USDA zones 3–10. [42]
The young leaves and young shoots of bugloss, when the hairs are still soft, are eaten in southern France and parts of Germany. Like the leaves of spinach they are steamed or boiled before consumption. [43] Young leaves are also sometimes used in salads. [7] However, the pyrrolizidine alkaloid lycopsamine has been found in the seeds and the upper parts of the plant. While there are no records of toxic effects in humans or animals similar unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids have caused toxic effects and further studies have been urged as the plant flowers are occasionally sold as a food ingredient. [44]
Though physicians in his time regarded Nicholas Culpeper as, "something of a fraud", [45] his book The English Physician Enlarged was also very popular, [46] five editions of it being printed before 1698. [46] Culpeper wrote of Anchusa officinalis under the names "alkanet", "orchanet", "Spanish bugloss", and "enchusa". He claimed many virtues for the plant, including that it would cure snake bites and the extraordinary claim that, "if any one that hath newly eaten it, do but spit into the mouth of a serpent, the serpent instantly dies." [45] [47] [48]
In European medical herbalism it was used prior to about 1810 for having "aperient and refrigerant" virtues (laxative and fever lowering). However, the physician and botanist William Woodville wrote, "as all the common oloraceous plants are cooling and laxative, these properties are no peculiar recommendation of Bugloss." [49] The Greek physician in the 1st century Pedanius Dioscorides wrote of the astringent effect of the root of common bugloss. He also said that it was effective for the healing of burns and old ulcers when the root was boiled in oil. Preparations of the root were also used externally to treat pain and soothe the skin as well as promoting wound healing. The late medieval botanist Hieronymus Bock recommended it to treat depression and strengthen the heart. [7] Though both Leonhart Fuchs and Bock wrote that it could be used to treat depression, [7] Woodville attributed all its supposed effectiveness to the fact that it was administered in wine. [49] It is generally regarded as obsolete as a remedy due to the levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant. [50]
Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-notfamily, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution.
Echium plantagineum, commonly known as purple viper's-bugloss or Patterson's curse, is a species of the genus Echium native to western and southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia. It has also been introduced to Australia, South Africa, and United States, where it is an invasive weed. Due to a high concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, it is poisonous to grazing livestock, especially those with simple digestive systems, such as horses.
Pulmonaria (lungwort) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe and western Asia, with one species east to central Asia. According to various estimates there may be between 10 and 18 species found in the wild.
The genus Anchusa belongs to the borage family (Boraginaceae). It includes about 35 species found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States.
Saponaria officinalis is a common perennial plant from the family Caryophyllaceae. This plant has many common names, including common soapwort, bouncing-bet, crow soap, wild sweet William, and soapweed. There are about 20 species of soapworts altogether.
Lamium galeobdolon, commonly known as yellow archangel, golden dead-nettle, artillery plant, or aluminium plant, is a widespread wildflower in Europe, and has been introduced elsewhere as a garden plant. It displays the zygomorphic flower morphology, opposite leaves, and square stems typical of the mint family, Lamiaceae.
Bugloss is a name used for several plants in the borage family (Boraginaceae):
Echium wildpretii is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is an herbaceous biennial plant that grows up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. The species is endemic to the Canary Islands, and is found mainly in the national park surrounding Mount Teide in Tenerife. The subspecies E. wildpretii subsp. trichosiphon occurs at high altitudes on the island of La Palma. The common names are tower of jewels, red bugloss, Tenerife bugloss or Mount Teide bugloss.
Pentaglottis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. It is represented by a single species, Pentaglottis sempervirens, commonly known as green alkanet or evergreen bugloss, and it is one of several related plants known as alkanet. It is a bristly, perennial plant native to southwestern Europe, in northwest Iberia and France.
Anchusa barrelieri, Barrelier's bugloss or false alkanet, is a species of plant in the Boraginaceae plant family. It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant.
Anchusa arvensis is a plant species of the genus Anchusa. Its common names include small bugloss, annual bugloss, field bugloss and alkanet.
Verbena bonariensis, the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop and South American vervain. For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see below.
Anchusa azurea is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, known by the common names garden anchusa and Italian bugloss. This bristly herbaceous perennial may reach 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and 60 cm (24 in) wide. It has straight lance-shaped leaves and petite tubular flowers about 15 millimeters across with five bright violet-blue petals. These flowers, which typically appear in May–July, are edible and attract bees. This species is native to Europe, western Asia, and eastern Maghreb.
Alkanet is the common name of several related plants in the borage family (Boraginaceae):
A. officinalis may refer to:
Coleophora pennella is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in most of Europe.
Hormuzakia aggregata is a flowering annual plant in the borage family, known by the common names massed alkanet, Arabic: لسان الثور, and Hebrew: לשון-שור מגובבת.
Anchusa strigosa is a non-succulent species of herbaceous plants in the Boraginaceae family endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean regions, particularly, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Iran. It is known widely by its common names of strigose bugloss and prickly alkanet.
Anchusa capensis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Namibia, South Africa and Lesotho. The genus Anchusa is from the Greek word anchousa, which makes reference to its use as a dye base for cosmetic paint obtained from the roots of another plant in the genus Anchusa tinctoria. The species capensis translates to ‘from the Cape’ referring to South Africa