Iranian Borage

Echium amoenum, Iranian borage, is one of the important medicinal herbs of Iranian traditional medicine. It is a biennial or perennial herb native to a narrow zone of northern Iran, the Caucasus and southern Russia. It grows to about 50 centimetres, with flowers about 3 centimetres long. Its Persian name, golgāvzabān, is roughly cow's tongue flower, after its bristly, hairy stems and leaves. The dried flowers are made into a tea that is claimed to be anti-inflammatory and relaxing, and is used traditionally for colds and for sleep. It is also said to be analgesic, sedating and anxiolytic. The page says the mechanism has not been worked out: naloxone reduces the pain-relieving effect, which could point to opioid receptors, and some studies speculate that flavonoids bind benzodiazepine receptors.