The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Borage
BORAGE.
Boràgo officinalis.—Bourrache, Fr.—Borragen, Ger.
This herb is said to have originated from Aleppo, but is now naturalized in many parts of Europe. It is a hardy annual, and easily cultivated, from sowing the seeds in April, which come up without any care. Borage is cultivated in our gardens on account of the supposed cordial virtues of its flowers, but they have long lost their reputation. In Italy its young and tender leaves are in common use, both as a pot-herb and a salad. In France its flowers, with those of Nasturtium, are put into salads as an ornament. In England it is now nearly neglected, but the flowers and upper leaves are sometimes used as an ingredient in that Summer beverage composed of wine, water, lemon juice, and sugar, called a cool tankard, to which they seem to give an additional coolness.