Anchusa Anchusa The genus Anchusa belongs to the tribe Boragineae of the borage family (Boraginaceae). It includes about 40 species. These species grow in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of annual plants, biennial plants and perennial plants with the general characteristics of the borage family. They are generally herbs, covered with bristly hairs. The leaves are simple or undulate, covered with stiff hairs. The small radially symmetrical flowers are sapphire blue and retain their colour a long time. The plants show numerous flowers with 5 sepals, united at their
Borage peel or by mint. It is also one of the key "Botanical" flavourings in Gilpin's Westmorland Extra Dry Gin. The seeds contain 26-38% of borage seed oil, of which 17-28% is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), the richest known source. The oil also contains the fatty acids palmitic acid (10-11%), stearic acid (3.5-4.5%), oleic acid (16-20%), linoleic acid (35-38%), eicosenoic acid (3.5-5.5%), erucic acid (1.5-3.5%), and nervonic acid (1.5%). The oil is often marketed as "starflower oil" or "borage oil" for use as a GLA supplement, although healthy adults will typically produce ample GLA from dietary linoleic acid. The leaves contain small