This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Heliotropium is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Heliotropes | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||||||
|
250-300, see text |
The heliotropes (Heliotropium) is a genus of plants in the family Boraginaceae with 250 to 300 species.
The name "heliotrope" derives from the fact that these plants turn their leaves to the sun. Helios is Greek for "sun", tropein means "to turn". The old English name "turnsole" has the same etymology.
Contents |
Ecology and human use
Danainae butterflies like to visit these plants. One reason is to drink the sap which renders the butterflies noxious to predators. Some species collect olfactory compounds to produce a kind of "perfume" to attract mates. Caterpillars of the Grass Jewel (Freyeria trochylus), a gossamer-winged butterfly, feed on H. strigosum.
Several heliotropes are popular garden plants, most notably Garden Heliotrope (H. arborescens). Some species are weeds and many are hepatotoxic if eaten in large quantities due to abundant pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The sap of heliotrope flowers, namely of European Heliotrope (H. europaeum), was used as a food coloring in Middle Ages and Early Modern French cuisine.
One of the most famous ragtime piano melodies is Heliotrope Bouquet, composed in 1907 by Louis Chauvin (the first two strains) and Scott Joplin (the last two strains).
Common heliotrope is grown in Southern Europe as an ingredient for perfume.[1]
Selected species
_on_Indian_Turnsole_(Heliotropium_indicum)_at_Jayanti,_Duars,_West_Bengal_W_Picture_440.jpg)
- Heliotropium amplexicaule – Summer Heliotrope
- Heliotropium anderssonii
- Heliotropium anomalum – Polynesian Heliotrope, Pacific Heliotrope
- Heliotropium anomalum var. argenteum – hinahina, hinahina ku kahakai, nohonohopuuone, pohinahina (Hawaiian)
- Heliotropium arborescens – Garden Heliotrope, Common Heliotrope, "Cherry Pie"
- Heliotropium argenteum
- Heliotropium asperrimum R.Br.
- Heliotropium balfourii
- Heliotropium bracteatum R.Br.
- Heliotropium conocarpum F.Muell. ex Benth.
- Heliotropium crispatum F.Muell. ex Benth.
- Heliotropium diversifolium F.Muell. ex Benth.
- Heliotropium chenopodiaceum (A. DC.) Clos.
- Heliotropium claussenii DC.
- Heliotropium convolvulaceum – Sweet-scented Heliotrope, Showy Heliotrope
- Heliotropium curassavicum – Seaside Heliotrope, Salt Heliotrope, Chinese Parsley, Monkey Tail, Quail Plant; cola de mico (Spanish)
- Heliotropium dentatum
- Heliotropium derafontense
- Heliotropium ellipticum
- Heliotropium epacrideum F.Muell. ex Benth.
- Heliotropium europaeum – European Heliotrope, European Turnsole
- Heliotropium fasciculatum R.Br.
- Heliotropium flintii F.Muell. ex A.S.Mitch.
- Heliotropium foertherianum Diane & Hilger
- Heliotropium foliatum R.Br.
- Heliotropium glabellum R.Br.
- Heliotropium heteranthum (F.Muell.) Ewart & O.B.Davies
- Heliotropium indicum
- Heliotropium kuriense
- Heliotropium laceolatum Loefg.
- Heliotropium lineariifolium Phil.
- Heliotropium megalanthumn I.M. Johnst.
- Heliotropium nigricans
- Heliotropium paniculatum R.Br.
- Heliotropium pannifolium – St Helena Heliotrope (extinct: c.1820)
- Heliotropium pauciflorum R.Br.
- Heliotropium paulayanum
- Heliotropium peruvianum
- Heliotropium pleiopterum F.Muell.
- Heliotropium procumbens
- Heliotropium prostratum R.Br.
- Heliotropium riebeckii
- Heliotropium shoabense
- Heliotropium sinuatum (Miers) I.M.Johnst.
- Heliotropium socotranum
- Heliotropium stenophyllum Hook. et Arn.
- Heliotropium strigosum Willd.
- Heliotropium tenuifolium R.Br.
- Heliotropium ventricosum R.Br.
- Heliotropium wagneri
- Heliotropium aff. wagneri "Samhah"
Formerly included here
- Chrozophora tinctoria (as H. tricoccum)
See also
References
- Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L. & Little, C.R.: (2007): Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock. ISBN 0-89672-614-2
External links
- A Heliotrope at Gardener's Path
- Pictures of Heliotropes at The Old House Web
- Picture of Heliotropium chenopodiaceum at Chileflora
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 September 2008, at 13:04.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Heliotropium".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.