Garden heliotrope | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Boraginales |
Family: | Boraginaceae |
Genus: | Heliotropium |
Species: | H. arborescens |
Binomial name | |
Heliotropium arborescens | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Heliotropium arborescens, the garden heliotrope or just heliotrope, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae, native to Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. [2] Common names also include cherry pie and common heliotrope. [3]
It is an economically damaging invasive species in Australia.
Growing to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) tall and broad, it is a bushy, evergreen, short-lived shrub with dense clusters of bright purple flowers, notable for their intense, rather vanilla-like fragrance. [4]
As a perennial, it is hardy in zones 10 to 11, and requires wintering indoors in zones 9 or colder. [5] It is hardy down to about 5 °C (41 °F). It can also be grown as a half-hardy annual (grown from seed under glass and planted out after all danger of frost has passed) in those areas. [6] Alternatively soft-wood cuttings may be taken in summer. [3]
During the Victorian era in England this plant gained great recognition, often appearing in gardens and the herbaceous borders of parks. They were also grown as standards. [6] A vanilla-scented heliotrope was laid on the coffin of the American poet Emily Dickinson. [7] Note that the common name "garden heliotrope" may also refer to valerian, [8] which is not closely related.
Its popularity may have become less in more modern times, but hardy and colourful cultivars, such as 'Princess Marina', have ensured that this plant still regularly appears in seed catalogues and garden centres. Other popular cultivars include, 'Mary Fox', the highly scented 'White Lady' or 'White Queen' and the taller 'Florence Nightingale'.
‘Chatsworth’ [9] and 'Princess Marina' , [10] both strongly scented with deep purple flowers, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [11]
The seeds are poisonous. [4] The ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center article on heliotropes lists them as a substance which is toxic to horses and can induce liver failure in equines. [12] The plant is not very palatable, but will be eaten by animals with no other forage; poisonings typically occur from ingestion of green plant material or material in hay.
The toxic components can cause liver failure, referred to as "walking disease" or "sleepy staggers". Signs include weight loss, weakness, sleepiness, yawning, incoordination, yellowish discoloration to mucous membranes (icterus), neurologic problems secondary to liver failure (aimless walking, chewing motions, head pressing).[ citation needed ] Animals may appear to be normal at first, then become suddenly affected; the syndrome progresses rapidly over a few days to a week.
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids often cause upset stomachs and liver damage for humans who ingest any part of the plant. [5]
The purple coloration of the flower lent itself to the so-called "heliotrope cyanosis" that was characteristic of severely ill patients in the 1918 flu pandemic. [13]
In the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria, common heliotrope is the most economically damaging of all of the invasive species in Australia, and its cost to the national economy (mainly borne by farmers) over the 60 years up to 2021 is estimated to be over half a billion Australian dollars. [14]
Geranium is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the greatest diversity in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region.
Alstroemeria, commonly called the Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. They are all native to South America, although some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. Almost all of the species are restricted to one of two distinct centers of diversity; one in central Chile, the other in eastern Brazil. Species of Alstroemeria from Chile are winter-growing plants, while those of Brazil are summer growing. All are long-lived perennials except A. graminea, a diminutive annual from the Atacama Desert of Chile.
Lathyrus latifolius, the perennial peavine, perennial pea, broad-leaved everlasting-pea, or just everlasting pea, is a robust, sprawling herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe but is present on other continents, such as North America and Australia, where it is most often seen along roadsides.
Nicotiana sylvestris is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, known by the common names woodland tobacco, flowering tobacco, and South American tobacco. It is a biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the tobacco genus Nicotiana, native to the Andes region in Argentina and Bolivia, in South America.
Hyacinthus orientalis, the common hyacinth, garden hyacinth or Dutch hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, native to southwestern Asia, southern and central Turkey, northwestern Syria, Lebanon and northern Palestine. It was introduced to Europe in the 16th century. It is widely cultivated everywhere in the temperate world for its strongly fragrant flowers which appear exceptionally early in the season, and frequently forced to flower at Christmas time.
Heliotropium is a genus of flowering plants traditionally included in the family Boraginaceae s.l., but placed in the family Heliotropiaceae within the Boraginales order, by the Boraginales Working Group.. There are around 325 species in this almost cosmopolitan genus, which are commonly known as heliotropes. They are highly toxic to dogs and cats, as well as to humans.
Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.
Eucomis comosa, the pineapple flower, pineapple lily or wine eucomis, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family Asparagaceae. A deciduous bulbous perennial used as an ornamental plant, it is endemic to South Africa. The white to purple flowers appear in summer and are arranged in a spike (raceme), topped by a "head" of green leaflike bracts.
Caragana arborescens, the Siberian peashrub, Siberian pea-tree, or caragana, is a species of legume native to Siberia and parts of China and neighboring Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It was taken to the United States by Eurasian immigrants, who used it as a food source while travelling west. In some areas of the United States it is considered an invasive species. Introduced on the Canadian prairies in the 1880's, the hardy caragana provided shelter-belts, wildlife habitat, nitrogen fixation, and windbreaks to prevent soil erosion and snow drifting.
Lobelia erinus is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae, native to southern Africa.
Daphne odora, winter daphne, is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae, native to China, later spread to Japan and Korea. It is an evergreen shrub, grown for its very fragrant, fleshy, pale-pink, tubular flowers, each with four spreading lobes, and for its glossy foliage. It rarely fruits, producing red berries after flowering.
Matthiola incana is a species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Common names include Brompton stock, common stock, hoary stock, ten-week stock, and gilly-flower. The common name stock usually refers to this species, though it may also be applied to the whole genus Matthiola. The common name "night-scented stock" or "evening-scented stock" is applied to Matthiola longipetala.
Erysimum cheiri, syn. Cheiranthus cheiri, the wallflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), native to Greece, but widespread as an introduced species elsewhere. It is also treated as a hybrid under the name Erysimum × cheiri. It is widely cultivated as a garden plant.
Ipheion uniflorum is a species of flowering plant, related to the onions, placed in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) of the Amaryllidaceae. It is known by the common name springstar, or spring starflower. Along with all the species of the genus Ipheion, some sources place it in the genus Tristagma, but research published in 2010 suggested that this is not correct. It is native to Argentina and Uruguay, but is widely cultivated as an ornamental and reportedly naturalized in Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Argyranthemum frutescens, known as Paris daisy, marguerite or marguerite daisy, is a perennial plant known for its flowers. It is native to the Canary Islands. Hybrids derived from this species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants in private gardens and public parks in many countries, and have naturalized in Italy and southern California. There are many cultivars, but the most common has white petals.
Cyclamen pseudibericum, the false Iberian cyclamen, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyclamen of the family Primulaceae, native to the Amanus or Nur and Anti-Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey. It is an herbaceous, tuberous perennial growing to 12 cm (5 in). It is similar to Cyclamen coum, but with longer petals.
Verbena rigida, known as slender vervain or tuberous vervain, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Verbenaceae. It is native to Brazil and Argentina, and is not fully hardy in temperate climates, where consequently it is grown from seed as an annual.
Crocus angustifolius, the cloth-of-gold crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae, native to southern Ukraine and Armenia. It is a cormous perennial growing to 5 cm (2.0 in) tall and wide. The narrow grass-like leaves with silver central stripe appear in late winter or early spring. They are followed by bright yellow fragrant flowers with maroon blotches on the outer petals.
Iris sambucina, the elder scented iris, is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from southern and central Europe. It has green, curved or sword-like leaves, tall round stem, multiple flowers in shades from brown violet, or brown-purple, to purple-violet, blue violet, mauve, and to purple. The large flowers are fragrant, with the scent of elderflowers, hence the name. It was first considered a separate species, then it was classified as a synonym of Iris germanica, before being classified as a separate species again, but with a hybrid origin from Iris pallida and Iris variegata. It is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Lonicera × purpusii, the Purpus honeysuckle, is a hybrid species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It originated as a cross of garden origin between two Chinese species, L. fragrantissima and L. standishii.