''Heliotropium curassavicum'', commonly called salt heliotrope (among other names), a species of flowering plant in the borage family (

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...

). It is native to much of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, including the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and Hawaii. It can be found as an introduced, and sometimes invasive, species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It thrives in salty soils, such as beach sand, alkali flats, and salt marshes. It is often found in disturbed coastal sites.

Description

This is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

which can take the form of a prostrate creeper along the ground to a somewhat erect

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

approaching in height. The stem and foliage are fleshy, with the leaves thick and oval or spade-shaped. The plentiful

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are curled, coiling double rows of small bell-shaped

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s. Each flower is white with five rounded lobes and a purple or yellow throat. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a smooth nutlet.

Names

Due to its wide geographical range that spans many nations and languages, '' Heliotropium curassavicum'' has been given an assortment of common names. In English, these include seaside heliotrope, salt heliotrope, monkey tail, quail plant and Chinese parsley. In

Latin American Spanish The different dialects of the Spanish language spoken in the Americas are distinct from each other, as well as from those varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula and the Spanish Mediterranean islands—collectively known as Peninsular Spanish� ...

, it is known as ''cola de mico'', ''cola de gama'' or ''rabo alacrán''. It is called ''kīpūkai'' in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Taxonomy

There are five currently recognized varieties. These are: *''H. curassavicum'' var. ''argentinum'' - Native to the tropics of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, including

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. *''H. curassavicum'' var. ''curassavicum'' - Globally widespread, native from the eastern U.S. to Argentina, and naturalized on seashores elsewhere. *''H. curassavicum'' var. ''fruticulosum'' - Endemic to the

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

and Mendoza provinces of Argentina. *''H. curassavicum'' var. ''obovatum'' - Widespread in western North America and Chihuahua, Mexico. *''H. curassavicum'' var. ''oculatum'' - Native from southwestern Utah to

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. Image:Heliotropium curassavicum var curassavicum.jpg, Variety ''curassavicum'' has the smallest flowers, only 2.5-3.5 mm wide ( Bahia Honda Key, Florida) Image:Heliotropium_curassavicum_1.jpg, Variety ''obovatum'' has flowers 5–10 mm wide, with yellow or slightly purple-tinged throats (

Moapa Valley, Nevada Moapa Valley is an unincorporated town in Clark County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 6,924. The valley in which the community lies, also named Moapa Valley, is about long and lies roughly northwest to s ...

) Image:Seaside heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum) (5968544497).jpg, Variety ''oculatum'' has flowers 3–5 mm wide with purple throats (

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

)

References

External links

* *
Jepson Manual TreatmentCalflora photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q164149 curassavicum Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Halophytes Flora of Hawaii Flora of Northern America Flora of Southern America