Buglosses includes about 35 species found growing in Europe, North Africa, South Africa and Western Asia. They are introduced in the United States. They consist of annual plants, biennial plants and perennial plants with the general characteristics of the borage family. They are commonly herbaceous. The leaves are simple or undulate, covered with stiff hairs. The small radially symmetrical flowers are sapphire blue and retain their colour a long time. The plants show numerous flowers with 5 sepals, united at their bases, and 5 petals forming a narrow tube facing upwards. The flowers grow in several axillary cymes, simple or branched, or are clustered at the end.