Strigose Bugloss

Appearance

''Anchusa strigosa'' is a perennial herb, with a rosette of leaves at its base and an inflorescence stem that rises to a height of one meter or more. The leaves are rough as the tongue of a ruminate, from whence its Arabic designation and its Hebrew designation take their names. Both names are a reflection of the Greek word ''bouglossos'' , the name given for the same plant and meaning "ox-tongued." The plant grows lean, and is often scraggy, from whence the modern taxonomic name of the species takes its name. In winter the plant grows a large rosette of leaves, and in late spring a few inflorescence stems grow from the base of the plant. The petiole is nail-like and has a narrow tube and a closed pharynx with bristly white scales. The flower of the ''Anchusa strigosa'' is blue. However, there is a white flower variety of the plant that is gradually displacing the blue variety.

The Italian bugloss is very similar to ''Anchusa strigosa'' in as far as its blue flower is concerned, but differs from ''Anchusa strigosa'' by its soft hairs which are not prickly.

The roots of Anchusa contain anchusin , a red-brown resinoid colouring matter. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, chloroform and ether.

Distribution

The plant is native to the Old World, namely, the Eastern Mediterranean basin and adjacent Western Asia, growing in heavy soils in semi-steppe shrub lands, shrub-steppes, and in Mediterranean woodlands. In Israel its principal habitat is the transition belt between the Mediterranean coastal region and the arid desert regions, growing along waysides in sandy and chalkstone habitats.

The flowers of the ''Anchusa strigosa'' blossom between March and May in Israel.

Habitat

The plant is native to the Old World, namely, the Eastern Mediterranean basin and adjacent Western Asia, growing in heavy soils in semi-steppe shrub lands, shrub-steppes, and in Mediterranean woodlands. In Israel its principal habitat is the transition belt between the Mediterranean coastal region and the arid desert regions, growing along waysides in sandy and chalkstone habitats.

The flowers of the ''Anchusa strigosa'' blossom between March and May in Israel.

Uses

A reddish-brown saliva-like resinoid exudes from the roots of the plant when bruised, which, in some species, was formerly collected and used for medicinal purposes. Gustaf Dalman who conducted geographical and ethnographic research in Palestine in the early 20th-century heard the plant ''lisān eth-thōr'' described to him in the country as being an edible wild herb, and which he applied to ''Anchusa officinalis'', saying that its young leaf growths of spring were collected by some of the indigenous Arab peoples of the land, who then boiled them to be eaten. After boiling, the leaves are finely chopped and sautéed in oil and garlic, and used as a meat garnish or as a viand with eggs.

The Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides mentions the medicinal properties of the genera ''Anchusa'' in his day, adding that "the ointment makers use the root for thickening ointments." Burns and skin lesions can be cured with an ointment prepared from crushed leaves of the plant with the addition of olive oil. The Jewish philosopher and physician, Maimonides , recalls the genera ''Lingua Bovina'' in his ''Medical Treatise'', saying that it is "a proven drug used in compound decoctions."