Botanical Name: Borago officinalis L.
 
Borage is a native plant of Southern Europe, having become naturalized all over Europe and the United States. It is a prolific grower, having a tendency to sprout up in abandoned lawns and junkyards. At one time borage was an essential herb for beekeepers, grown to help bees produce more honey. Traditionally, it was also grown as an ornamental, or boiled as a pot herb.
Borage is noted for having a cucumber like flavor and is easily recognized by its white prickly hairs and bright blue, star-shaped flowers. Its dark green leaves are gently curved and its fruits consist of dark brown nutlets (seeds) in groups of four. Both Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides claimed that borage was used to "exhilarate the mind", comfort the heart, drive sorrow away, and increase one's general happiness.