Parts Most Frequently Used: Leaf, Flower, Seed

Flavors/Temps: Bitter, Sweet, Cooling

Caution: Considered safe.

Key Constituents: Seed- Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), Fatty acids, Stearic acid, Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, Erucic acid, Nervonic acid. Leaf – Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (toxic PA), Thesinine (non-toxic PA), Potassium, Calcium, Mineral acids, Saline mucilage, Zinc, Vitamins C & B, Beta carotene. Flower – High in Vitamin C, A and K, Iron, Calcium, and Magnesium

History/Folklore: The leaves are edible, and the plant is commercially cultivated for borage seed oil and culinary and medicinal uses. It is an excellent fresh vegetable or dried herb. As a fresh vegetable, it tastes a bit like cucumber and is often used in salads or as a garnish. The flower has a sweet honey taste and is often used to make syrup and decorate cakes and cocktails. The blue flowers are traditionally used to garnish the Pimm’s Cup cocktail.

Steeping borage flowers in water with added lemon, sugar, and wine makes a wonderful, refreshing summer drink.

The Latin name, borago, is where the popular name, borage, comes from and is believed to be a corruption of “corago,” which combines the meaning of “the heart” and “I bring”, referencing the herb’s delicious cordial effects. Another theory of the name’s origin states that it was derived from the Italian word “borra” for hair or wool, due to the plant’s hairy stems and leaves.

Borage is most popular in Germany, Spain, Northern Italy, and Greece, where it is used in salads, soups, and as a filling for ravioli.

The young tops were still boiled as a pot herb in the early nineteenth century. The young leaves are added to salads. Older leaves become hairy, prickly, and unappealing.

Borage is grown commercially to make borage seed oil. The seeds are the richest known source of GLA (Gamma-linolenic acid), a fatty acid that helps reduce inflammation and dilate blood vessels. The oil is often marketed as “starflower oil” or “borage oil” as a GLA supplement. The oil is used for skin disorders, including eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and swelling gums, and it is used to treat stress, diabetes, ARDS (acute respiratory disorder), pain, and swelling. The oil is also sometimes used in small amounts in infant formulas to provide fatty acids that help promote development in infants born prematurely. It is also used to increase breast milk production.

A typical formula for infusion is about 1 oz of leaves to 1 pint of boiling water taken in one-cup doses.

The presence of nitrate of potash in the plant causes it to emit sparks and even a slight explosive sound when the dried plant is burnt.

In France, the herb is popularly used to treat fevers and pulmonary complaints.

In Iran, borage tea is used to treat colds and flu, bronchitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and kidney inflammation.

In the Mediterranean, Borage is historically associated with raising spirits and treating melancholy. This suggests it may have been used by the Egyptians and various other Mediterranean cultures, including Syria and Lebanon. Some scholars believe that borage may be the “nepenthe” plant mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, which had forgetfulness-inducing properties. In ancient Rome, it was used to instill courage, banish sorrow, and bring joy to the heart.

The saline constituents in the plant contribute to the plant’s effectiveness in supporting kidney function.

Borage is often used to regulate metabolism and the hormonal system. It is considered a good remedy for premenstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.

The leaves are most commonly used medicinally. They are gathered when the plant is coming into flower.

Borage is a wonderful flower for your garden. It is a prolific self-seeder and will come back year after year. It thrives in poor soil with good light and regular watering.

Note – borage and comfrey are not the same plant. They are in the same family of plants and can look the same when they are not in bloom, but they are two different species. Comfrey is a perennial (meaning it comes back every year), and borage is an annual that happily reseeds.

Borage is associated with courage and bravery. In medieval times, wore sprigs of borage into battle.