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Echium
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<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p>The Latin genus name <i>Echium</i> comes from the <a href="/facts/Greek_language/pzDd6eIz">Greek</a> ἔχιον <i>echion</i>, referring to <i><a href="/facts/Echium_plantagineum/5BH1EJ1g">Echium plantagineum</a></i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> and itself deriving from ἔχις <i>echis</i> (<a href="/facts/Viper/rS5298vz">viper</a>); the Greek term dates to <a href="/facts/Dioscorides/FzDmURv3">Dioscorides</a>, who noted a resemblance between the shape of the nutlets and a viper's head.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The genus <i>Echium</i> was published by <a href="/facts/Carl_Linnaeus/gy5HWkHS">Carl Linnaeus</a> in 1753. </p> <h2 id="cultivation-and-uses">Cultivation and uses</h2> <p>Many species are used as ornamental and garden plants and may be found in suitable climates throughout the world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> In <a href="/facts/Crete/VSqxTU9u">Crete</a>, <i><a href="/facts/Echium_italicum/kX3TWyoW">Echium italicum</a></i> is called <i>pateroi</i> (πάτεροι) or <i>voidoglosses</i> (βοϊδόγλωσσες) and its tender shoots are eaten boiled or steamed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p><i>Echium</i> species are used as food plants by the <a href="/facts/Larva/GKo2FIew">larvae</a> of some <a href="/facts/Lepidoptera/yPFPsQmL">Lepidoptera</a> species including <i><a href="/facts/Coleophora_onosmella/J3R44SaL">Coleophora onosmella</a></i> and <a href="/facts/Orange_swift/c92bYJGn">orange swift</a>. </p><p>In some countries <i>Echium</i> extract has been used as cure for various diseases and is believed to have beneficial properties. </p> <h3><i>Echium</i> seed oil</h3> <p>The seed oil from <i>E. plantagineum</i> contains high levels of <a href="/facts/Alpha-linolenic_acid/8q795eSN">alpha-linolenic acid</a> (ALA), <a href="/facts/Gamma-linolenic_acid/hWXr1VzN">gamma-linolenic acid</a>, and <a href="/facts/Stearidonic_acid/D9LjjG9q">stearidonic acid</a>, making it valuable in cosmetic and skin-care applications, with further potential as a functional food, as an alternative to fish oils.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> However, despite its high ALA content, <i>Echium</i> seed oil does not increase <a href="/facts/Docosahexaenoic_acid/kwkBIrSd">docosahexaenoic acid</a> and <a href="/facts/Eicosapentaenoic_acid/KR6qsu44">eicosapentaenoic acid</a> levels.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="invasiveness">Invasiveness</h2> <p>Some species have been widely naturalized in Mediterranean climates, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America and the United States. For example, <i><a href="/facts/Echium_plantagineum/5BH1EJ1g">Echium plantagineum</a></i> has become a major <a href="/facts/Echium_plantagineum_in_Australia/vWLSakHd">invasive species in Australia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="species">Species</h2> <p>68 species are accepted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <ol><li><i>Echium acanthocarpum</i> Svent.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_aculeatum/xpCXavBh">Echium aculeatum</a></i> Poir.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_albicans/4vsY8wvM">Echium albicans</a></i> Lag. & Rodr.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_amoenum/6rkYC64k">Echium amoenum</a></i> Fisch. & C.A.Mey</li> <li><i>Echium anchusoides</i> Bacch., Brullo & Selvi</li> <li><i>Echium angustifolium</i> Lam.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_arenarium/N9btTyHz">Echium arenarium</a></i> Guss.</li> <li><i>Echium asperrimum</i> Lam.</li> <li><i>Echium auberianum</i> Webb & Berthel.</li> <li><i>Echium × bailaderense</i> A.A.Weller</li> <li><i>Echium bethencourtii</i> A.Santos</li> <li><i>Echium boissieri</i> Steud.</li> <li><i>Echium × bond-spraguei</i> Sprague & Hutch.</li> <li><i>Echium bonnetii</i> Coincy</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_brevirame/cxodSDRx">Echium brevirame</a></i> Sprague & Hutch.</li> <li><i>Echium callithyrsum</i> Webb ex Bolle</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_candicans/aIIAjQsV">Echium candicans</a></i> L.f.</li> <li><i>Echium canum</i> Emb. & Maire</li> <li><i>Echium clandestinum</i> Pomel</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_creticum/EBUurP0c">Echium creticum</a></i> L.</li> <li><i>Echium decaisnei</i> Webb & Berthel.</li> <li><i>Echium flavum</i> Desf.</li> <li><i>Echium gaditanum</i> Boiss.</li> <li><i>Echium giganteum</i> L.f.</li> <li><i>Echium glomeratum</i> Poir.</li> <li><i>Echium handiense</i> Svent.</li> <li><i>Echium hierrense</i> Webb ex Bolle</li> <li><i>Echium horridum</i> Batt.</li> <li><i>Echium humile</i> Desf.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_hypertropicum/QbAV14pY">Echium hypertropicum</a></i> Webb</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_italicum/kX3TWyoW">Echium italicum</a></i> L.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_judaeum/VDhQQtTV">Echium judaeum</a></i> Lacaita</li> <li><i>Echium khuzistanicum</i> Mozaff.</li> <li><i>Echium × lemsii</i> G.Kunkel</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_leucophaeum/bPrKKL9I">Echium leucophaeum</a></i> (Webb ex Christ) Webb ex Sprague & Hutch.</li> <li><i>Echium × lidii</i> G.Kunkel</li> <li><i>Echium longifolium</i> Delile</li> <li><i>Echium lusitanicum</i> L.</li> <li><i>Echium modestum</i> Ball</li> <li><i>Echium montenielluense</i> Delage</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_nervosum/jkY1vp0g">Echium nervosum</a></i> W.T.Aiton</li> <li><i>Echium onosmifolium</i> Webb & Berthel.</li> <li><i>Echium pabotii</i> Mouterde</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_parviflorum/1aBMN3bb">Echium parviflorum</a></i> Moench</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_perezii/yk6pL0BS">Echium perezii</a></i> Sprague</li> <li><i>Echium petiolatum</i> Barratte & Coincy</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_pininana/JPeeTjLD">Echium pininana</a></i> Webb et Berthel.</li> <li><i>Echium pitardii</i> A.Chev.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_plantagineum/5BH1EJ1g">Echium plantagineum</a></i> L.</li> <li><i>Echium portosanctense</i> J.A.Carvalho, Pontes, Bat.-Marques & R.Jardim</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_rauwolfii/2IC1723F">Echium rauwolfii</a></i> Delile</li> <li><i>Echium rosulatum</i> Lange</li> <li><i>Echium rubrum</i> Forssk.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_sabulicola/Nog1W9lA">Echium sabulicola</a></i> Pomel</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_salmanticum/h7HHSgal">Echium salmanticum</a></i> Lag.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_simplex/E2Xg5IJa">Echium simplex</a></i> DC.</li> <li><i>Echium spurium</i> Lojac.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_stenosiphon/wx6EoMW1">Echium stenosiphon</a></i> Webb</li> <li><i>Echium strictum</i> L.f.</li> <li><i>Echium suffruticosum</i> Barratte</li> <li><i>Echium sventenii</i> Bramwell</li> <li><i>Echium x taibiquense</i> P.Wolff & Rosinski</li> <li><i>Echium tenue</i> Roth</li> <li><i>Echium thyrsiflorum</i> Masson ex Link</li> <li><i>Echium triste</i> Svent.</li> <li><i>Echium trygorrhizum</i> Pomel</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_tuberculatum/huuovMwd">Echium tuberculatum</a></i> Hoffmanns. & Link</li> <li><i>Echium velutinum</i> Coincy</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_virescens/TlEebfzq">Echium virescens</a></i> DC.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_vulcanorum/IWAVu3Ck">Echium vulcanorum</a></i> A.Chev.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_vulgare/watWEDfJ">Echium vulgare</a></i> L.</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_webbii/umJjbq3Y">Echium webbii</a></i> Coincy</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Echium_wildpretii/FPN461Ql">Echium wildpretii</a></i> H.Pearson ex Hook.f.</li></ol> <h3>Formerly placed here</h3> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Megacaryon_orientale/13THCBnc">Megacaryon orientale</a></i> (L.) Boiss. (as <i>Echium orientale</i> L.)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Pontechium_maculatum/fqzHCH9Q">Pontechium maculatum</a></i> (L.) Böhle & Hilger (as <i>Echium maculatum</i> L.)</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Sunset Western Garden Book. Sunset Books. 1995. pp. 606–607. ISBN 9780376038500. <a href="9780376038500" target="_blank">9780376038500</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>da Costa, Ricardo Pires (2019). The pollinator community of the Madeiran endemic Echium candicans: individual-based network metrics, relation with plant traits, and pollinator behaviour (PDF) (Master's thesis). University of Lisbon. <a href="https://repositorio.ul.pt/bitstream/10451/41473/1/ulfc125744_tm_Ricardo_Costa.pdf" target="_blank">https://repositorio.ul.pt/bitstream/10451/41473/1/ulfc125744_tm_Ricardo_Costa.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Böhle, Uta-Regina; Hilger, Hartmut H.; Martin, William F. (October 1996). "Island colonization and evolution of the insular woody habit in Echium L. (Boraginaceae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 93 (21): 11740–11745. Bibcode:1996PNAS...9311740B. doi:10.1073/pnas.93.21.11740. PMC 38128. PMID 8876207. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC38128" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC38128</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>ἔχιον. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project. <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=e)/xion" target="_blank">https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=e)/xion</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Pusateri, William P.; Blackwell, Jr., Will H. (December 1979). "The Echium vulgare Complex in Eastern North America". Castanea. 44 (4): 223–229. JSTOR 4033180. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4033180" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/4033180</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Echium Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 July 2024. <a href="https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30062099-2" target="_blank">https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30062099-2</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Stavridakis, Kleonikos G. (2006). Η Άγρια βρώσιμη χλωρίδα της Κρήτης [Wild Edible Plants of Crete] (in English and Greek) (Bilingual ed.). K.G. Stav̲ridaki̲s. ISBN 9789606311796. <a href="9789606311796" target="_blank">9789606311796</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Echium Crop Fact Sheet". nlaf.uk. June 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2023. <a href="https://nlaf.uk/Library/content/GetDoc.axd?ctID=ZWVhNzBlY2QtZWJjNi00YWZiLWE1MTAtNWExOTFiMjJjOWU1&rID=MjQxMw==&pID=MjI5&attchmnt=False&uSesDM=False&rIdx=MjMwNg==&rCFU=" target="_blank">https://nlaf.uk/Library/content/GetDoc.axd?ctID=ZWVhNzBlY2QtZWJjNi00YWZiLWE1MTAtNWExOTFiMjJjOWU1&rID=MjQxMw==&pID=MjI5&attchmnt=False&uSesDM=False&rIdx=MjMwNg==&rCFU=</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Lane, Katie E.; Wilson, Megan; Hellon, Teuta G.; Davies, Ian G. (February 12, 2021). "Bioavailability and conversion of plant based sources of omega-3 fatty acids – a scoping review to update supplementation options for vegetarians and vegans". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 62 (18): 4982–4997. doi:10.1080/10408398.2021.1880364. PMID 33576691. S2CID 231899843. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10408398.2021.1880364" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10408398.2021.1880364</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Wolf, Kristina (June 12, 2016). "Echium plantagineum Risk Assessment". California Invasive Plant Council. <a href="https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/risk/echium-plantagineum-risk/" target="_blank">https://www.cal-ipc.org/plants/risk/echium-plantagineum-risk/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Echium Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 July 2024. <a href="https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30062099-2" target="_blank">https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30062099-2</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>