Botanical Name: Buglossoides arvensis
Family: Boraginaceae
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Boraginales
Genus: Lithospermum
Species: L. arvense
Synonyms: Aegonychon arvense (L.) Gray; Buglossoides arvensis f. cyanea R.Fern; Lithospermum arvense L; Margar
Common Names: Field Gromwell, Corn gromwell, Bastard alkane
Habitat: Buglossoides arvensis is native to Europe and Asia, as far north as Korea, Japan and Russia, and as far south as Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. It is known in other places as an introduced species, including much of North America and Australia. The European Union has granted the refined oil of the seed of Buglossoides arvensis novel food status and some farmers are growing . It grows in arable fields, rough ground and open grassy places.
Description:
Buglossoides arvensis is an annual flowering plant, growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in).
It is in flower from May to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, flies
Stems – Ascending to erect, to 50 cm, solitary, often branched, densely pubescent with short, appressed, antrorse, pustular-based hairs.
Leaves – Alternate, and basal, with basal leaves often withered at flowering. Stem leaves sessile or short-petiolate, to 7 cm long and 8 mm wide, linear-oblong to lanceolate, densely appressed-pubescent on both surfaces, with prominent midrib below, simple, entire (margins sometimes revolute), usually acute, apex often curved.
Flowers – Calyces actinomorphic, 5-lobed nearly to the base, the lobes 6-8 mm long at flowering, becoming elongated to 8-13 mm at fruiting, linear to narrowly triangular, densely appressed-hairy, persistent and ascending at fruiting. Corollas 5-8 mm long, narrowly funnelform, 5-lobed, actinomorphic, white, the tube 4-6 mm long, exceeding or equaling calyx, the throat lacking scales but with 5 lines or bands of minute glandular hairs extending into the tube, the lobes 1.0-1.5 mm long, more or less ascending, rounded to bluntly pointed. Stamens 5, alternating with corolla lobes, attached near the base of the corolla tube, the filaments short (0.1 mm), the anthers yellow and oblong, positioned near the tube midpoint, not exserted from the corolla. Ovary deeply 4-lobed, the style short, not exserted from the corolla, often not persistent at fruiting, the stigma capitate, 2-lobed.
Fruits – Schizocarps dividing into mostly 4 nutlets, these 2.5-3.5 mm long, hard and dense, erect to slightly oblique, angular-ovoid with a blunt ventral keel, attached to the relatively flat gynobase at the base or nearly so, the attachment scar surrounded by a low, collarlike ring, bluntly pointed at the tip, the surface strongly longitudinally wrinkled and pitted, tan to grayish brown with darker depressions.
Cultivation: Prefers a moderately fertile well-drained soil.
Propagation: Seed – sow spring in situ. Germination should take place within a few weeks.
Edible Uses:
The European Union has granted the refined oil of the seed of Buglossoides arvensis novel food status (a type of food that does not have a significant history of consumption or is produced by a method that has not previously been used for food) and some farmers are growing it.
Medicinal Uses: An infusion of the leaves is used as a diuretic.
Other Uses: Buglossoides arvensis is grown to beautify the flower garden.
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithospermum_arvense
https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Buglossoides+arvensis
http://www.missouriplants.com/Buglossoides_arvensis_page.html
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