Heliotropium curassavicum
Encyclopedia
Heliotropium curassavicum is a species of heliotrope
that is native to much of the Americas
, from Canada
to Argentina
, and can be found on other continents as an introduced species
. It is known by several common names, such as Seaside Heliotrope, Salt Heliotrope, Monkey Tail, Quail Plant and (misleadingly) "Chinese parsley"; in Latin American Spanish it is known as cola de mico or cola de gama, and it is called kīpūkai in Hawaii
. It thrives in salty
soils, such as beach sand and alkali flats
. This is a perennial
herb
which can take the form of a prostrate creeper
along the ground to a somewhat erect shrub
approaching 0.5 m (1.6 ft) in height. The stem and foliage are fleshy, with the leaves thick and oval or spade-shaped. The plentiful inflorescence
s are curled, coiling double rows of small bell-shaped flower
s. Each flower is white with five rounded lobes and a purple or yellow throat. The fruit
is a smooth nutlet.
Heliotropium
Heliotropium is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. There are 250 to 300 species in this genus, which are commonly known as heliotropes ....
that is native to much of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and can be found on other continents as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It is known by several common names, such as Seaside Heliotrope, Salt Heliotrope, Monkey Tail, Quail Plant and (misleadingly) "Chinese parsley"; in Latin American Spanish it is known as cola de mico or cola de gama, and it is called kīpūkai in Hawaii
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
. It thrives in salty
Halophyte
A halophyte is a plant that grows where it is affected by salinity in the root area or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora . Relatively few plant species are...
soils, such as beach sand and alkali flats
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
. This is a perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herb
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
which can take the form of a prostrate creeper
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
along the ground to a somewhat erect shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
approaching 0.5 m (1.6 ft) in height. The stem and foliage are fleshy, with the leaves thick and oval or spade-shaped. The plentiful inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s are curled, coiling double rows of small bell-shaped flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s. Each flower is white with five rounded lobes and a purple or yellow throat. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a smooth nutlet.