borage
/ˈbɒrɪdʒ
/noun
A European herbaceous plant with bright blue flowers and hairy leaves, which is attractive to bees.
- Borago officinalis, family Boraginaceae (the borage family). This family includes many plants that typically have blue or purple flowers, including forget-me-not, comfrey, bugloss, and alkanet.
- Painted Ladies, which instinctively lay their eggs on thistle plants, also find an acceptable substitute in the hairy leaves of borage.
- We've got hawthorn, gingko, elder, mullein, lavender, sage, thyme, echinacea, borage, yarrow and plenty of pine trees.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French bourrache, from medieval Latin borrago, perhaps from Arabic 'abū ḥurāš 'father of roughness' (referring to the leaves).