Echium
| Echium | |
|---|---|
| Echium vulgare | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Subfamily: | Boraginoideae |
| Genus: | Echium Tourn. ex L. (1753) |
| Type species | |
| Echium vulgare | |
| Species | |
|
68; see text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Echium /ˈɛkiəm/ is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae that contains about 70 species and several subspecies.
Species of Echium are native to North Africa, mainland Europe to Central Asia, and the Macaronesian islands where the genus reaches its maximum diversity. Twenty-nine species of Echium are endemic to the Canary, Madeira, and Cape Verde archipelagos. The continental species are herbaceous, whereas many of the endemic species of the Macaronesian islands are woody perennial shrubs.