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Anchusa officinalis

(Alkanet Anchusa Officinalis)

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Alkanet, Alkanet Anchusa Officinalis, Bugloss, Common Alkanet, Common Bugloss, Oxtongue

Common Names in French:

Buglosse Officinale

Common Names in German:

Gemeine Ochsenzunge, Gewöhnliche Ochsenzunge

Common Names in Portuguese:

Blugosa

Common Names in Romanian:

Limba Boului, Miruta

Common Names in Spanish:

Buglosa

Common Names in Swedish:

Oxtunga

Description

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Family Boraginaceae

Herbs perennial , biennial, or annual , less often lianas, shrubs , or trees , usually bristly or scabrous-pubescent. Leaves simple , exstipulate , alternate, rarely opposite, entire or serrate at margin . Inflorescences often double scorpioid cymes, rarely solitary; bracts present or absent. Flowers bisexual , actinomorphic , rarely zygomorphic. Calyx usually 5-parted or lobed , mostly persistent . Corolla tubular , campanulate , rotate, funnelform , or salverform ; tube appendages 5, rarely more, mostly trapeziform, rarely absent, sometimes a ring of hairs present; limb usually 5-parted; lobes overlapping, rarely twisted in bud. Stamens 5, inserted on corolla tube or rarely at throat , included or rarely exserted; anthers introrse , 2-loculed, usually dorsifixed at base , less often medifixed , dehiscence longitudinal . Nectaries at base of corolla tube or on disc below ovary. Ovary superior, 2-carpellate; locules 2 and each with 2 ovules, or 4 and each with 1 ovule; ovules nearly atropous , semianatropous, or anatropous . Style terminal or gynobasic , branched or not. Gynobase flat, fastigiate , or subulate . Fruit 1-4-seeded drupes or nutlets (mericarps) ; nutlets mostly dry, often ornamented with wings, prickles and/or glochids (stiff bristles with barbed or anchorlike tips ) . Seeds vertical or oblique , coat membranous; embryo straight, less often curved ; cotyledons flat, fleshy .

About 156 genera and 2500 species: temperate and tropical regions , centered in the Mediterranean region; 47 genera and 294 species in China, of which four genera and 156 species are endemic.[1]

Genus Anchusa

Herbs annual or perennial , sparsely strigose or hispid , rarely soft appressed pubescent . Stems erect or spreading . Leaves alternate. Cymes terminal , widely spaced in fruit, scorpioid; bracts lanceolate. Calyx 5-parted nearly to base or less; lobes equal or unequal, linear to triangular, often slightly enlarged in fruit. Corolla blue-purple or yellowish, regular or slightly zygomorphic; tube usually longer than calyx, straight or arcuate or geniculate curved ; throat appendages scaly or tuberculate and short pubescent; limb campanulate ; lobes 5, equal or unequal, apex obtuse . Stamens inserted at or below middle of corolla tube, included ; filaments short, filiform ; anthers ovate-oblong, apex obtuse. Ovary 4-divided. Style included in corolla tube; stigma capitate, 2-cleft. Gynobase flat. Nutlets straight, reniform , or oblique-ovoid, reticulate-wrinkled; attachment scar at or near base, margin ringlike, thickened, hardened.

About 50 species: N Africa, C and W Asia, Europe; one species in China.[2]

Physical Description

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: April, May, June, July, August. • Flower Color: dark blue, lavender, purple, violet

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 12-18" tall.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,335 meters (0 to 7,661 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Biennial, Perennial

Growth

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Anchusa procera Bess. Ex Link

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication : Sp. pl. 1:133. 1753

Name verified on 26-May-1994 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 21-Jul-2006

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Anchusa

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 187 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

A. acaulis · A. adami · A. aegptiaca · A. aegyptiaca · A. affinis · A. africana · A. agardhii · A. aggregata · A. altissima · A. amoena · A. amplexicaulis · A. angustifolia · A. angustissima · A. annua · A. arvalis · A. arvensis (Annual Bugloss Anchusa Arvensis) · A. arvensis orientalis · A. aspera · A. asperrima · A. atlantica · A. atlantica caerulescens · A. aucheri · A. azurea (Summer Forget-Me-Not) · A. azurea 'Blue Heaven' · A. azurea 'Dropmore' (Summer Forget-Me-Not) · A. azurea 'Feltham Pride' (Summer Forget-Me-Not) · A. azurea 'Italian Pride' · A. azurea 'Kingfisher Blue' · A. azurea 'Little John' · A. azurea 'Loddon Royalist' (Summer Forget-Me-Not) · A. azurea 'Morning Glory' · A. azurea 'Opal' · A. azurea 'Royal Blue' · A. barrelieri (Barrelier's Bugloss) · A. barrelieri longisepala · A. baumgarteni · A. biceps · A. bracteolata · A. caespitosa · A. calcarea · A. canescens · A. capellii · A. capensis (Summer Forget-Me-Not) · A. capensis 'Blue Angel' (Summer Forget-Me-Not) · A. capensis 'Blue Bird' · A. cesatiana · A. cespitosa · A. ciliata · A. clavata · A. coronensis · A. cretica · A. crispa · A. crispata · A. crispa subsp. maritima · A. cruciata · A. davidovii · A. deflexa · A. depressa · A. dregei · A. dubia · A. echioides · A. flava · A. foliosa · A. formosa · A. gmelini · A. gmelinii · A. granatensis · A. hirta · A. hispida · A. hispidissima · A. humilis · A. hyalotricha · A. hybrida · A. incana · A. incarnata · A. intermedia · A. iranica · A. italica · A. kunthii · A. lanata · A. lanceolata · A. lateriflora · A. laxiflora · A. leiosperma · A. leptophylla · A. leptophylla 'Blue Shower' · A. leptophylla incana · A. leptophylla 'Sapphire Blue' · A. leptophylla subsp. incana · A. leucantha · A. limbata · A. linearifolia · A. linifolia · A. littorea · A. 'Loddon Gold' · A. longifolia · A. lucida · A. luschani · A. lutea · A. lycopsidis

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 16, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Gelin Zhu, Harald Riedl & Rudolf V. Kamelin "Boraginaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 329. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Anchusa". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 358. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. Mean = 162.130 meters (531.923 feet), Standard Deviation = 237.820 based on 2,469 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/1/2009