*Heliotropium amplexicaule

Family Boraginaceae

Blue Heliotrope

Perennial herb to15 cm high with deep taproot to 5 mm diameter. Longevity indefinite.

Flowers: Purple or lilac, November - March.

Fruit: Of two mericarps, succulent at first, becoming wrinkled and falling at maturity, November – March.

Seed:

Gallery images: seed, seedling, rootstock, resprout

Ecology

• Native of South America.
• Woodland, roadside and pasture habitats.
• Local populations in woodland at the Australian Botanic Garden.
• Major weed, expanding in woodland, controlled with spraying.
• Summer growing species that dies back in winter and regrows from the taproot in spring.
• Resprouts after fire.

Asterisk * indicates exotic species naturalised at the Australian Botanic Garden.