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Heliotropium arborescens 'Atlantis'

(Atlantis Heliotrope)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Atlantis Heliotrope, Heliotrope

Description

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Family Boraginaceae

Herbs perennial , biennial, or annual , less often lianas, shrubs , or trees , usually bristly or scabrous-pubescent. Leaves simple , exstipulate , alternate, rarely opposite, entire or serrate at margin . Inflorescences often double scorpioid cymes, rarely solitary; bracts present or absent. Flowers bisexual , actinomorphic , rarely zygomorphic. Calyx usually 5-parted or lobed , mostly persistent . Corolla tubular , campanulate , rotate, funnelform , or salverform ; tube appendages 5, rarely more, mostly trapeziform, rarely absent, sometimes a ring of hairs present; limb usually 5-parted; lobes overlapping, rarely twisted in bud. Stamens 5, inserted on corolla tube or rarely at throat , included or rarely exserted; anthers introrse , 2-loculed, usually dorsifixed at base , less often medifixed , dehiscence longitudinal . Nectaries at base of corolla tube or on disc below ovary. Ovary superior, 2-carpellate; locules 2 and each with 2 ovules, or 4 and each with 1 ovule; ovules nearly atropous , semianatropous, or anatropous . Style terminal or gynobasic , branched or not. Gynobase flat, fastigiate , or subulate . Fruit 1-4-seeded drupes or nutlets (mericarps) ; nutlets mostly dry, often ornamented with wings , prickles and/or glochids (stiff bristles with barbed or anchorlike tips ) . Seeds vertical or oblique , coat membranous; embryo straight, less often curved ; cotyledons flat, fleshy .

About 156 genera and 2500 species: temperate and tropical regions , centered in the Mediterranean region; 47 genera and 294 species in China, of which four genera and 156 species are endemic.[1]

Genus Heliotropium

Herbs annual or perennial , rarely subshrubs , pubescent or strigose , rarely scabrous . Leaves alternate, less often opposite, sessile or petiolate . Cymes terminal , rarely axillary , unilateral , scorpioid, bracteate or not. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla white or light bluish purple, less often yellow, cylindric or funnelform , strigose outside, glabrous and rarely appressed pubescent inside; throat frequently pubescent; limb 5-parted; lobes orbicular , sometimes linear , margin with folds or undulate . Filaments extremely short; anthers included . Ovary completely or incompletely divided into 4 lobes; ovules 4. Style terminal; stigma conical or ringlike. Fruit nutletlike dry drupes, without evident mesocarp at maturity, endocarp bony, dividing into 4 1-seeded or 2 2-seeded mericarps. Seeds straight or curved , usually with a thin endosperm.

About 250 species: tropical and temperate regions ; ten species in China.[2]

Physical Description

Habit: Erect

Flowers: Bloom Period: April, May, June, July, August. • Flower Color: Purple • Flower Conspicuous: Spikes with large, dense, flatened clusters of tiny tubular flowers

Foliage: Dark green, roughly hairy • Foliage Shape: Lance-shaped • Normal foliage color: Green • Underside foliage: Green • Juvenile foliage: Green • Mature foliage: Green • New foliage: Green • Spring foliage: Green • Summer foliage: Green • Fall foliage: Green • Winter foliage: Green

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Moderate Growing • Size: Compact grower to 1 ft . high and wide.

Landscaping

Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system . Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring . For a formal appearance , shear annually after flowering.

Habitat

Biome: During the juvenile or non-reproductive stage, H. helix is typically a ground cover. The leaves of the adult or reproductive form are usually a lighter green, thick, ovate to rhombic in shape and have less prominent whitish veins. D

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 12-15" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun

Moisture: Water Requirements: Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 12 (>210 days) Low:1 (< 1 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: High:11 (Above 40 F) Low:9 (20 to 30 F) (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Heliotropium

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 50 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

H. amplexicaule (Clasping Heliotrope) · H. angiospermum (Butterfly Heliotrope) · H. anomalum (Pacific Heliotrope) · H. anomalum Hook. & Arn. var. argenteum Gray (Polynesian Heliotrope) · H. anomalum var. anomalum (Polynesian Heliotrope) · H. anomalum var. argenteum (Polynesian Heliotrope) · H. arborescens (Common Heliotrope) · H. arborescens L. 'Mini Marine' (Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Alba' (Cherry Pie Plant) · H. arborescens 'Atlantis' (Atlantis Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Blue Wonder' (Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Cherry Pie' (Cherry Pie Heliotrope Heliotropium Arborescens) · H. arborescens 'Fragrance Mix' (Common Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Fragrant Delight' (Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Iowa' (Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Kleha07520' (Heliotrope 'kleha07520') · H. arborescens 'Marine' (Marine Heliotrope) · H. arborescens 'Nagano' (Nagano Heliotrope) · H. confertifolium (Leafy Heliotrope) · H. convolvulaceum (Bindweed Heliotrope) · H. convolvulaceum (Nutt.) Gray var. californicum (Greene) I.M.Johnst. (Phlox Heliotrope) · H. convolvulaceum var. californicum (Phlox Heliotrope) · H. convolvulaceum var. convolvulaceum (Phlox Heliotrope) · H. curassavicum (Cola De Mico) · H. curassavicum var. curassavicum (Salt Heliotrope) · H. curassavicum var. obovatum (Seaside Heliotrope) · H. curassavicum var. oculatum (Seaside Heliotrope) · H. europaeum (European Heliotrope) · H. fruticosum (Key West Heliotrope) · H. glabriusculum (Greeneye Heliotrope) · H. greggii (Fragrant Heliotrope) · H. guanicense (Cotorrilla) · H. indicum (India Heliotrope) · H. lagoense (Antilles Heliotrope) · H. microphyllum (Littleleaf Heliotrope) · H. molle (Soft Heliotrope) · H. peruviana (Cherry Pie) · H. polyphyllum (Many-Leaved Heliotrope) · H. pringlei (Pringle Heliotrope) · H. procumbens (Four-Spike Heliotrope) · H. procumbens var. depressum (Fourspike Heliotrope) · H. procumbens var. procumbens (Fourspike Heliotrope) · H. racemosum (Coastal-Plain Heliotrope) · H. ramosissimum (Wavy Heliotrope) · H. supinum (Dwarf Heliotrope) · H. tenellum (Pasture Heliotrope) · H. ternatum (Bushy Heliotrope) · H. texanum (Texas Heliotrope) · H. torreyi (Jerusalem Artichoke) · H. undulatifolium (Turnsole Heliotrope)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Gelin Zhu, Harald Riedl & Rudolf V. Kamelin "Boraginaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 329. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Heliotropium". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 338. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/21/2012