Borage - Borago - is a medicinal plant belonging to the Boraginaceae family and the Boragineae tribe. The Kokopelli catalog offers two types of borage - Borago officinalis - depending on the season and harvest, one with blue flowers and the other with white. This is a highly melliferous species. A garden without Borage is like a heart without courage". Botanists give it two etymologies. The first is "Borago", from "borra", which gave "bourre" (wool) in French, due to the fact that the plant is entirely covered with a sometimes prickly down. The second is "Corago", from "cor", referring to the heart, and "ago", referring to the fact of moving, acting, launching an impulse. Interestingly, the first "Borago" refers to the physical aspect, while the second "Corago" evokes the inner quality. One poet even suggested that its name was derived from the Celtic "barrach", meaning "man of courage". The Latin poet Pliny called it "euphrosinum", that which makes man happy, and the Latins bequeathed us two little verses: "Ego Borago, Gaudia semper ago", I, Borage, always bring joy. According to some gardeners, the presence of borage in the garden gives protection to all surrounding plants. Its high silica content boosts the resistance of companion plants.
