Nice startup sir. Hope this week will also be a great success.... On Sat, Jun 2, 2012 at 6:53 PM, Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]> wrote:
> Boraginaceae is an interesting family of flowering plants often easily > recognised by somewhat rough stems and coiled inflorescence. Here is some > information to help members with uploads of members of this family. Members > are requested to participate liberally with uploads of both identified and > unidentified photographs. > > Boraginaceae A. L. de Jussieu Borage family > 117 genera, 2,435 species > Widely distributed in temperate, tropical and subtropical regions. > > *Salient features:* Bristly herbs, stems cylindrical, leaves alternate, > inflorescence helicoid cymes, flowers pentamerous, actinomorphic, carpels > 2, ovary 4-lobed, style gynobasic, fruit with 4 nutlets. > > Major genera: Cordia (300 species), Heliotropium (250) Tournefortia > (240), Onosma (140), Myosotis (90), Cynoglossum (75) and Ehretia (75). > > Description: Herbs, shrubs or trees (Cordia), sometimes lianas, inner > phloem lacking, hairs with basal cystolith and often calcified or > silicified and as such plants bristly, rough to touch. Leaves alternate, > simple, entire, venation pinnate, reticulate, stipules absent. > Inflorescence usually of helicoid cymes, rarely scorpioid. Flowers > bisexual, actinomorphic, rarely zygomorphic (Echium), hypogynous, > pentamerous. Calyx with 5 sepals, free or slightly connate at base, > persistent. Corolla with 5 petals, united, rotate, tubular or funnel > shaped, usually plicate. Androecium with 5 stamens, epipetalous, inserted > in corolla tube, filaments free, bithecous, anthers introrse, dehiscence > longitudinal, pollen grains tricolporate or multiporate, filaments often > with nectar discs at base. Gynoecium with 2 united carpels, ovary superior, > deeply 4-lobed, bilocular, axile placentation, becoming 4-locular due to > false septa, style 1, terminal or gynobasic, stigma 1 or bilobed, capitate > or truncate, ovary seated on a nectary. Fruit a drupe with one 4-seeded, > two 2-seeded or four 1-seeded pits or schizocarp with four 1-seeded > nutlets; seeds with embryo straight or curved. Pollination mostly by > insects. Drupaceous fruits are dispersed by birds, whereas corky ones > (Argusia, Cordia) are carried away by water. > > Economic importance: Several species of Heliotropium (heliotrope), > Mertensia (virgin bluebells), Myosotis (forget-me-not), Cordia (Geiger > tree), Cynoglossum (hound’s tongue) and Pulmonaria (lungwort) are grown as > ornamentals. Several species such as Borago officinalis (borage), > Symphytum officinalis (comphrey) and Lithospermum spp. (pucoon) have been > used as medicinal herbs. Alkanna tinctoria (alkanet) is a source of red dye > used to stain wood and marble and to colour medicines, wines and cosmetics. > > Expected genera in India > > *Adelocaryum* > *Anchusa* > Arnebia > Asperugo > Bothriospermum > Chionocharis > Cordia > Cynoglossum > Ehretia > Echinospermum > Eritrichium > Hackelia > Heliotropium > Lappula > Lindelofia > Lithospermum > Lycopsis > Maharanga > Mertensia > Microula > Myosotis > Onosma > Paracaryum > Pseudomertensia > Rochelia > Solenanthus > Trigonotis > > > > -- > Dr. Gurcharan Singh > Retired Associate Professor > SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 > Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. > Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 > http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ > http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ > > -- Regards Dr Balkar Singh Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology Arya P G College, Panipat Haryana-132103 09416262964
