Heliotropium europaeum

Heliotropium europaeum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: (unplaced)
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Heliotropium
Species: H. europaeum
Binomial name
Heliotropium europaeum
L.

Heliotropium europaeum is a species of heliotrope known by the common names European heliotrope[1] and European turn-sole.[2] It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it is widely naturalized elsewhere, such as in Australia and North America. It grows as a roadside weed in some places. This is an annual herb growing from a taproot and reaching maximum heights near 40 centimeters. The stem and oval-shaped leaves are covered in soft hairs. The inflorescences are coiled spikes of white flowers with fuzzy or bristly sepals. Each flower is just a few millimeters wide. The fruit is a bumpy nutlet.

Toxicity

Heliotropium europaeum contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and is poisonous.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Heliotropium europaeum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ↑ The MERCK Veterinary Manual, Table 5


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