Heliotropium arborescens Heliotrope PFAF Plant Database

2 New Books ** Edible Plants: An inspirational guide to choosing and growing unusual edible plants and Woodland Gardening (Forest) [Paperback]. more >>


Search Page Content

Heliotropium arborescens - L.

Common Name

Heliotrope

Family

Boraginaceae

Synonyms

H. peruvianum. L.

Known Hazards

The seeds are poisonous[65].

Habitats

Coastal: forests, lomas from sea level to 3500 metres.

Range

S. America - Peru.

Edibility Rating

Medicinal Rating

Care

Summary

Physical Characteristics

Heliotropium arborescens is an evergreen Shrub growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 1 m (3ft 3in).
It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, lepidoptera.It is noted for attracting wildlife.

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Llez

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Llez

Habitats
Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.

Edible Uses
None known

Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. Febrifuge; Homeopathy. The plant is used to make a febrifugal tea[200]. A homeopathic remedy is made from the whole fresh plant[4]. It is used in the treatment of clergyman's sore throat and uterine displacement[4].

Other Uses
Essential. An essential oil obtained from the flowers is used in perfumery[57, 171]. The plant is sometimes used as a low hedge, though it is not hardy enough in Britain for this purpose[245].

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich well-drained soil in full sun[200]. Plants grow best in a sandy loam[260]. Severely damaged by low temperatures[1], this plant is not hardy in Britain but it can be grown as a half-hardy annual, flowering in its first year from seed[1, 200]. If grown as a shrub, it requires a minimum winter temperature of 5 - 7°c[200]. Plants stop growing when night-time temperatures fall below 5°c and are likely to be killed once the temperature falls below -2°c[260]. The plant turns its leaves and flowers so that it is always facing the sun during the day[4]. The flowers have a most unusual perfume, somewhat like cherries baked in a pie[245]. It is a good butterfly plant[24, 30]. A parent of the cultivated ornamental garden heliotropes[1], there are many named varieties[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 25 days at 20°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 7cm with a heel, July/August in a frame[78]. High percentage. Because the plant is not hardy the cuttings would have to be grown in a greenhouse for the winter before planting them out in the spring. Cuttings of young shoots in the spring[1]. Because the plant is not hardy the cuttings would have to be grown in a greenhouse for the winter before planting them out in the spring.

Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List

You can download this page as a PDF

Expert comment

Author
L.

Botanical References
200

Links / References

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956

Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.

Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[24]Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.

Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[30]Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe.

An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.

[57]Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.

Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[78]Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers.

A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[171]Hill. A. F. Economic Botany.

Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[245]Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World.

An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[260]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2

Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers comment

QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.

1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.

2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.

3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.

Rate This Plant
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.

Add a comment/link

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

Subject : Heliotropium arborescens

Links	To add a link to another website with useful info add the details here
Name of Site
URL of Site
Details