'Borage' or more common 'starflower'. The name has its origins from Low Latin 'borra', which means sheep wool.
Habitat
It is original from the western Mediterranean basin, then spread throughout Europe. It's found along the Cilento coast and in the interior of Campania.
The basal leaves are oval, elongated, in full or toothed margin and they have long stalks while the stem leaves are more narrow and lance-shaped, and their stalks are short or absent. The flowers have five blue-violet petals and are grouped in clusters that form a cob. The fruits are four brown and wrinkled achenes, enclosed by the cup which, after the fall of the petals, folds back on itself.
The medicine is made of the leaves and the flowers and is not recorded in the Pharmacopoeia. The harvest takes place just before the full flowering, through the seperation of the tops and the leaves.
Therapeutic and other popular uses
Borago has been appreciated since the Middle Ages for its nutritional and medicinal qualities and is a plant widely used in folk medicine in the area of Salerno and Campania.
In ancient times, to fight colds, bronchitis and pleurisy, 15 grams of fresh borage are put in a liter of boiled water for 10 minutes. After filtering the decoction, it is consumed 2-3 cups a day, being sweetened with honey. This drink, while still hot, makes us sweat. Flowers and leaves have been used for infusion, which can relieve coughs.
In the kitchen you can use the most tender borage leaves to prepare stews and soups. Chopped leaves are used raw in salads while cooked ones are for omelettes, stuffing pies and dumplings.
Notes
La flora officinale nel Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano
regione Campania, 2001 "Schede monografiche delle principali essenze officinali coltivate e spontanee" opuscolo divulgativo