Health benefits of Borage ~ Plant Care Guide
Borage is a beautiful flowering plant that grows in the wild in the Mediterranean. It is cultivated and used widely throughout Europe for its healing properties and for a nice addition to a salad. Borage is also cultivated in the US, where it is more popular as an herbal supplement rather than a food product. The leaves are robust and have medicinal properties and the topper of the plant is a striking blue star shaped flower. The flowers are edible as well and are often found candied for cake decorations or made into sweet syrups. In Italy it is served as a side dish much like a serving of vegetables.
Borage is from the Boraginaaceae family and has the proper name of Borago officinalis. Borage is also known as the Bee plant and Bee Bread because the blue purplish star shaped flower attracts bees all summer long. Throughout history Borage has been used to treat a multitude of ailments and to improve overall health. The Romans would mix Borage tea and wine prior to combat, most likely to fortify themselves for the battle.
There are multiple health benefits one can get from taking Borage as a herbal supplement. One of the most important nutrients in Borage is essential fatty acids, something our body needs for good health. Essential fatty acids must be ingested from diet. An essential fatty acid deficiency can directly affect mood, internal inflammation and various cellular functions. In order for metabolic processes such as cardiovascular functions to work properly, they depend on the proper levels of essential fatty acids in the body. EFA’s also improve hair and nail growth and appearance. Specifically, Borage has very high levels of GLA, gamma linolenic acid, an important essential fatty acid. Borage is often used to boost GLA deficiencies in children as well to ensure proper growth.
Borage is also packed with other healthy nutrients that are great for the body. Borage is a good herbal supplement for women because it contains high levels of calcium and iron, nutrients many women are deficient in. Potassium, Zinc, B and C Vitamins, and beta carotene are packed into the Borage plant making it very nutritional.
The adrenal glands in our body work very hard all day to prepare our body for fight or flight situations, constantly releasing adrenalin into the body. Adrenal fatigue can occur when the body is overstressed. Borage is used to restore the adrenal glands to their natural balance, which in turn creates a calmer body and mind.
Borage is well known for its soothing qualities and has been used to treat nervous conditions. Its natural sedative effects have been used for lifting the spirits and softening the nervous edge some people experience. Borage works well to ease the depression and mood swings often associated with menopause and menstrual cycles as well and is a nice alternative to traditional prescription medications.
There are many current ongoing studies involving the health benefits of Borage. Borage is currently being researched as a possible treatment for rheumatoid arthritis because of it’s anti inflammatory properties. Because of research like this, Borage is now known to reduce itch and dryness associated with certain skin disorders such as eczema and dermatitis.
Borage can be found in a caplet form, or as a liquid extract of the plant. Borage oil is distilled from the seeds of the plant and used topically or taken internally. It is not recommended to be taken long term internally due to the concentration of alkaloids in Borage that can damage the liver. A typical dose of the caplet or extract form is one to two grams per day. The dried leaves can be brewed into a tea, which has been said to have a refreshing cucumber like flavor.
It is not recommended that Borage be taken long term internally because of the concentration of alkaloids in Borage that can damage the liver. Do not take Borage if you are taking anti-coagulants without discussing it with your doctor first. Nausea, cramping, bloating and headache are side effects that Borage can cause, although they are relatively mild.
See Also
Borage Herbal Medicine ~ Borage Uses, Health Benefits And Side Effects
Borage nutrition facts
Borage Alchemy works
Borage Magick
Ruler: Jupiter and Leo
Type: Herb
Other Names: “Barrach” (Celtic for “man of courage”), tailwort, bee’s bread, andstarflower
Magickal Form: Blossoms, dried leaves
Borage is legendary for its spirit-lifting and courage-inducing properties. Celtic warriors drank wine flavored with borage to give them courage in battle, borage leaves and flowers were eaten for courage by Roman soldiers before they went into battle. Medieval knights wore scraves embroidered with the flowers for the same reason.
For courage, tuck a borage blossom in the pocket before any stressful situation, or drink a tea or glass of wine flavored with borage leaves.
Drinking borage tea is said to increase psychic powers and relieve symptoms of depression. Many of the most noted herbalists throughout history have considered it a very effective anti-depressant for the feeling of elation it induces.
Pliny said that borage-flavored wine was the Nepenthe of Homer, which when drunk brings forgiveness. In Elizabethan England, it was considered to lift melancholy; according to Culpeper, borage expells pensiveness and melancholy, and the candied or jellied flowers comfort the heart and spirits of those who are sick from consumption or from the passions of the heart. Gerard recommended eating this herb in a salad for joy and said that a syrup made of the flowers “purgeth melancholy and quieteth the phreneticke and lunaticke person.”
Place the fresh blossoms on an altar to bring luck and power to your spells. Sprinkle crushed dried leaves around the workplace for inspiration and business expansion. Drink the tea to increase psychic abilities.
Eating the flowers in salads aids courage and cheerfulness and ends melancholy. The flowers sprinkled in the bath are good for courage or for Jovian protection, and a cup of borage tea can help with feelings of vulnerability and disjointedness.
In Hoodoo, borage flowers in the house help bring about domestic tranquility. Borage flowers may be used alone or mixed with blue-flowered Corn Flowers, Periwinkle, Rosemary, or Forget-Me-Not. Steep the flowers to make a tea. You can also add this tea to a floor wash for a peaceful home.
You can also sprinkle it at the 4 corners of the property, the 4 corners of the house, the 4 corners of each room, and the 4 corners of the kitchen table, to restore harmony and love to the family.
Place a pinch of dried Borage flowers in each corner of a room where family fights have occurred, with a fifth pinch under the rug at the center of the room.
Because of its connections to Jupiter, this herb is associated with the Hierophant in the tarot deck.
From: Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients
Starflower ~ Borage Plant Care Guide @ Auntie Dogma’s
Tip! Borage can be planted now in Northern Hemisphere 🙂
Starflower ~ Borage Plant Care Guide
Starflower ~ Borage
By Bonnie L. Grant
The borage herb is an old fashioned plant that can get up to 2 feet or more. It is native to the Middle East and has an ancient history in war as an enhancement for bravery and courage. Growing borage provides the gardener with cucumber flavored leaves for tea and other beverages as well as bright starry blue flowers for decorating salads. All parts of the plant except the roots are flavorful and have culinary or medicinal uses.
The Borage Plant
While not as common as thyme or basil, borage herb is a unique plant for the culinary garden. It grows quickly as an annual but will colonize a corner of the garden by self seeding and reappearing year after year.
June and July are heralded by the presence of the borage flower, an appealing small brilliant blue bloom with attracting qualities. Indeed, the plant should be include in the butterfly garden and brings pollinators to your veggies. The oval leaves are hairy and rough with the lower foliage pushing 6 inches in length. The borage plant may grow 12 or more inches wide in a tall bushy habit.
Growing Borage
Herb cultivation just takes a little gardening know how. Grow borage in an herb or flower garden. Prepare a garden bed that is well tilled with average organic matter. Ensure that the soil is well drained and in a medium pH range. Sow seeds directly into the garden after the last date of frost. Plant seeds ¼ to ½ inch under the soil in rows 12 inches apart. Thin the borage herb to at least 1 foot when the plants measure 4 to 6 inches tall.
Planting borage with strawberries attracts bees and increases the yield of fruit. It has limited culinary use in today’s foods but the borage flower is often used as a garnish. Traditionally the borage plant was used to treat many ailments from jaundice to kidney problems. It medicinal use today is limited but the seeds are a source of linolenic acid. Borage flowers are also used in potpourris or candied for use in confections.
Borage can be perpetuated by allowing the flowers to go to seed and self sow. Pinching the terminal growth will force a bushier plant but may sacrifice some of the flowers. Borage herb is not a fussy plant and has been known to grow in refuse piles and highway ditches. Be assured you want the plant annually or remove the flowers before it seeds. Growing borage requires a dedicated space in the home garden for the large and prolific herb.
Borage Herb Harvest
Sowing the seeds every 4 weeks will ensure a ready supply of borage flowers. The leaves may be picked at any time and used fresh. Dried leaves have little of the characteristic flavor so the plant is best consumed right away. Leave the flowers alone if you are hosting a honeybee colony. The blooms produce an excellent flavored honey.
Borage (Borago officinalis), also known as a starflower, is an annual herb. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gardens in the UK climate, remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding. The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. The plant is also commercially cultivated for borage seed oil extracted from its seeds.
Borage (Borago officinalis): Most authorities consider that the Latin name Borago (from which Borage is taken) is a corruption of corago; from cor (the heart) and ago (I bring). Historically, herbalists have considered Borage to be an herb of courage; making a man merry and joyful.
Plant your Borage in a sunny spot in your garden and cluster the plants, since they tend to get ‘leggy’. I always end up supporting them with a stick, or tying then to the garden fence post to keep them from falling down after heavy rains. It will thrive in poor to moderate soil and little water. So basically it needs very little attention, except for supporting it to keep it from falling over.
Borage grows up to 2 ½ feet high and about 2 feet wide. The leaves are wrinkled, long ovals, covered with prickly little hairs. The flower clusters sit atop long, hollow, prickly stems, which come out of the leaf base. The clusters of vibrant, blue star shaped flowers droop, as if in need of water and attract lots of honey bees.
All parts of the plant have a refreshing cucumber smell and flavor, but because of the thistly hairs, the stem and leaves are rarely used as food. However, the flowers are a special treat when added to a summer salad or on top of a scoop of yogurt or cottage cheese. If you’re looking for a way to impress your afternoon guests, try serving them a glass of iced tea with Borage flower ice cubes. If you forget to make the ice cubes, just add the flowers to any summer drink. The Romans were the first to use Borage in this way; sprinkling them into a goblet of wine. It was believed to drive away sadness. We now know that the flowers contain large amounts of essential fatty acids (GLA).
Without adequate amounts of GLA (gamma-linoleic acid) the body goes into a state of chronic inflammation which promotes onset of heart disease, diabetes, alcoholism, atopic dermatitis, premenstrual syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, high blood pressure and more. GLA also benefits circulatory health by reducing cholesterol and LDL (low-density lipoprotein- the bad cholesterol) levels as it increases the beneficial HDL (High-density lipoprotein). An excellent way to get the benefits of Borage’s GLA is by ingesting Flaxseed /Borage oil which is available at your favorite health food store.
From earliest times Borage was credited with inducing calm and fortitude. Today we are fortunate to have modern scientific research to document its medicinal qualities. It contains a compound (phytochemical), which when taken internally, not only helps to relieve inflammatory conditions, but also balances the function of the adrenal glands.
Use it as a tonic for the adrenals- over a long period of time in the form of a tea: Pour a cup of boiling water onto 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb (leaves) and infuse for 10 – 15 minutes. Drink 2 or 3 times a day with a little honey to taste. When applied externally, it aids in the relief of eczema.
When your Borage plants are in full bloom (June, July and August), pick a few long stems. (If you’re planning on saving some seeds for next year, leave a few stems and flowers. As the flowers finish blooming, watch for and collect the large, black seeds) Tie them together at the cut end and hang them upside down in a warm, airy room away from sunlight. When the leaves are completely dry, (a few weeks to be sure) skin them off and put into a brown paper bag for storage (at least a few more weeks). When you’re sure they’re completely dry, you can transfer the leaves to a jar. Complete drying is essential to prevent mold from forming. I suggest using the completely dried herb for tea or tinctures.
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