Members of Boraginaceae in southern Africa occur mainly in summer rainfall regions where grassland and savanna prevail. They are subject not only to winter drought and frost, but also to natural and man-made veld fires. These species are adapted to survive unfavourable conditions by means of sturdy, often very old, fire-resistant rootstocks and mass seed production after fire-stimulated flowering, for example Trichodesma angustifolium. The plants resprout and flower shortly after burning, usually well before the onset of the rainy season.

Observations of the effect of fire on Trichodesma physaloides (chocolate bells) in the Pretoria National Botanical Garden, National Botanical Institute, South Africa, showed that unburned plants of the species did not flower at all or produced only a few inflorescences, as opposed to burned plants of the species in the same grassland that sprouted and produced inflorescences in profusion after a natural fire. It seems that a change in temperature also induces flowering of plants-Ehretia rigida subsp. nervifolia, a multistemmed shrub, flowers abundantly for a very short time even before the rains start.

An important feature in the southern African flora is the presence of members of genera that are naturalized aliens. Two species of Echium were introduced into southern Africa, possibly as part of stock feed or birdseed. They have become troublesome invaders and are now declared weeds.

An often neglected aspect of species is their adaptations for dispersal. The fruits and seeds of members of the family Boraginaceae in the southern African flora are dispersed in various ways. The bright orange-red drupes of Ehretia and Cordia are dispersed by birds or mammals such as monkeys, members of these genera are often found in bush clumps and along fences. Ants carrying the nutlets of Heliotropium amplexicaule into their nests were observed in the Pretoria National Botanical Garden where this species is a most successful invader of sandy, disturbed areas. Seeds of the genera Codon and Wellstedia are dispersed by the opening actions of their capsules, whereas nutlets of the genera Cynoglossum, Lappula, Rochelia and some members of Trichodesma and Afrotysonia are characterized by the presence of barbed hooks (glochidia) that are attachment devices that enable seeds to hook on to passersby to "catch a ride".