Family: Boraginaceae Juss.
Distribution: Eastern Mediterranean, southwestern Asia – southeastern Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Jordan, Israel.
Ecology: It grows in steppes and deserts, also in disturbed sites. It blooms from February to June.
Description: Perennial herb, 40–100 cm tall, with stiff prickles. Stem ascending to erect, branched. Basal leaves oblong-lanceolate, entire, cauline leaves narrower and smaller, alternate. Flowers in axillary and terminal cymes; calyx divided almost to the base into linear lobes, shorter than corolla tube; corolla light blue, dark blue, or white, limb divided into lobes to 1.5 cm in diameter, with 5 scales in throat. The fruits are nutlets, 6–8 mm.
Use: It is used in traditional medicine as an antiseptic, plant is also interesting for biochemical and pharmacological research.
Note: Anchusa strigosa serves as host plant of the beetle Coptosia ganglbaueri.
These images were taken in Cyprus, Platres (by Ladislav Hoskovec, March 28, 2010) and Syria, Hama (by Věra Svobodová – white form: May 1, 2009).
