Anchusa strigosa is a non-succulent species of herbaceous plants in the Boraginaceae family endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean regions, particularly Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Iran.

Anchusa strigosa is a perennial herb, with a rosette of leaves at its base and an inflorescence stem that rises to a height of 1 metre (3+1⁄2 ft) or more.

[10] 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 A. 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.

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 (1138–1204 CE), recalls the genera Lingua Bovina ("ox-tongue") in his Guide to Good Health (Regimen Sanitatis), saying that it is "a proven light drug used in compound decoctions",[13] after its leaves were dried, ground into a powder, and infused in hot water.