Plant · P-113

Borage

Borago officinalis

Borage's flowers draw bees hard while they last, but in a hot climate that season is really just spring: growth collapses once summer heat sets in, though a second planting in autumn can carry it through a mild winter into an early spring show. The cucumber-flavored leaves and flowers work as a garnish, not a vegetable - the plant carries liver-toxic alkaloids that limit them to occasional use, so anyone with liver trouble should skip them. The seed oil is different: it is the plant's real medicinal yield, rich in gamma-linolenic acid, and it is safe where the leaves and flowers are not.